April 18, 2014
Saratoga, Calif.----- The San Jose State University sand volleyball pairs of Megan Powers and McKenzie Palassou and Lyndsay Albiani and Felicia Seguraeach won their bracket at an eight-team exhibition tournament hosted by West Valley College.
Playing as the Spartans' #1-pair, Powers and Palassou won all five of their matches on the day defeating pairs from Fresno State and Gavilan College in pool play and topping another Gavilan twosome, one from Monterey Peninsula College and San Jose State's #3-pair of Lauren Jacobsen and Cori O'Donoghuein the championship match of the Upper Bracket.
"That was pretty encouraging to see. They (the Fresno State pair of Katie and Molly Pearson) have a lot of potential in beach volleyball, but I think we were able to out-experience them today," San Jose State sand volleyball head coach Aaron Shepardsonsaid about Powers and Palassou's 24-22, 21-16 win over the Bulldogs' pair.
For Palassou, a freshman from Salinas, it was her second win in pairs action in eight days. She teamed with Lauren Jacobsenfor a tournament win on April 11 at West Valley College.
Albiani and Segura, the Spartans' #5-pair, posted wins over pairs from DeAnza and West Valley Colleges, but dropped a match to a Hartnell College in pool play. The San Jose State pair swept through the Lower Bracket with wins over DeAnza and the #1-teams from Gavilan and West Valley Colleges.
On the day, San Jose State pairs combined to win 20-of 25 matches at the tournament that included teams from Fresno State and DeAnza, Foothill, Gavilan, Hartnell, Monterey Peninsula and host West Valley Colleges. Each Spartan pair posted a winning record for the day.
"Overall, everybody is playing under control now. I think we are understanding the pass and set, how it gives rhythm to your side out and how it prevents the other side from running long strings of points against you," the Spartans coach said about the team's play the last two weeks. "The other thing we are doing well is we are hitting tough shots every time. We're not giving anybody anything easy. If we have a good set, we'll take a great swing. If we're in trouble, we'll try to put the ball in a corner somewhere and not give away too many easy balls."
San Jose State concludes its first sand volleyball season Saturday, April 19, with dual matches against California and Sacramento State on the Sacramento State campus. The Spartans take on Sacramento State at 11:00 a.m. and Cal at 2:00 p.m.
San Jose State University sand volleyball
Exhibition pairs tournament
West Valley College, Saratoga, Calif.
April 18, 2014
| Pool play records | |
| 1. Megan Powers & McKenzie Palassou | 2-0 |
| 2. Tyanna Roy & Kiely Pieper | 2-0 |
| 3. Lauren Jacobsen & Cori O'Donoghue | 2-1 |
| 4. Lindsay Skadeland & Sabrina Webb | 3-0 |
| 5. Lyndsay Albiani & Felicia Segura | 2-1 |
| Championship bracket records | |
| Megan Powers & McKenzie Palassou | 3-0 |
| Lyndsay Albiani & Felicia Segura | 3-0 |
| Lauren Jacobsen & Cori O'Donoghue | 3-1 |
| Lindsay Skadeland & Sabrina Webb | 0-1 |
| Tyanna Roy & Kiely Pieper | 0-1 |