Waves Invited to USAV Collegiate Pairs Championships
5/3/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. " USA Volleyball invited four pairs and one alternate pair from the third-ranked Pepperdine beach volleyball team to compete at the USAV Collegiate Beach Pairs Championships from May 11-13 in Hermosa Beach.
The Waves' top four pairs received an invitation to compete, while the No. 5-partnership has received alternate standing and will compete if other pairs are unable. No. 1-duo Delaney Knudsen and Madalyn Roh, No. 2-pair Brittany Howard and Corinne Quiggle, No. 3-partnership Skylar Caputo and Heidi Dyer and No. 4-competitors Anika Wilson and Deahna Kraft all have through invitations. No. 5-pair Nikki Lyons and Sarah Seiber will serve as the alternates.
For the field, 24 women's pairs selected from college beach teams and eight men's pairs were invited to participate. The event is also a tryout for Team USA, with a spot on a USAV collegiate beach national team on the line.
Pepperdine and USC both have four teams competing, most of any schools.
No. 1-pair, Knudsen (Valencia, Calif./Valencia HS) and Roh (Scottsdale, Ariz./Chaparral HS) have led the Waves in the top spot throughout all 27 matches this season. The pair has posted an 18-9 overall record and have won 40-of-65 total sets this season. One of the pair's most notable wins occurred in the Waves' 3-2 upset over No. 2 Florida State in the third match of the season. The duo clinched the overall win with a 28-26, 18-21, 15-11 win on court one.
The Waves' No. 2-pair, Howard (Mountain View, Calif./Mountain View HS/Stanford) and Quiggle (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Ponte Vedra HS) have been key to the Waves' successes this season, posting a 24-3 overall dual record and a 49-10 sets record. The duo has bested opposition against Florida State when the Seminoles were ranked both No. 2 and No. 4, No. 3 UCLA, No. 5 Long Beach State, and Hawai'i when the Rainbow Wahine were ranked both No. 5 and No. 6. To open the 2017 campaign, the duo downed 3rd-ranked UCLA's Kamila Tan and Madi Yeomans en route to a 3-2 Waves up-set win.
The Waves No. 3 pair, the sophomore duo of Caputo (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) and Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS), who posted a 22-5 overall record and a 45-16 sets record this season. One of the biggest wins for the pair occurred in the first match of the season in the upset 3-2 win over No. 3 UCLA. The duo split the first two sets with 21-12 and 18-21 set scores. The pair then came back from a late 11-14 third-set deficit to win 16-14 and clinch the Waves' win.
Freshman Kraft (Seattle, Wash./Garfield HS) and sophomore Wilson (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos HS) have amassed a 22-5 overall record and a 43-14 sets record against opponents this season. The duo defeated many ranked opponents throughout the season and went undefeated at 3-0 in the WCC Championships. Early in the season, the pair helped the Waves to a 3-2 upset win over No. 2 Florida State as they bested Sierra Sanchez and Hailey Luke with a 21-17, 21-14 final mark.
The Waves are currently en route to the NCAA National Championships on May 5-7 in Gulf Shores, Ala. Follow @WavesBeachVB for updates and check on PepperdineWaves.com for full results, recaps and more!
