Pepperdine University
USC
Pepperdine Downed by USC in NCAA Semifinals
5/6/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
SEASON STATS | PHOTO GALLERY: USC | NCAA BRACKET
GULF SHORES, Ala. - The 3rd-ranked Pepperdine beach volleyball team was downed 3-0 by top-ranked Southern California in the NCAA Championship semifinals at Gulf Shores Public Beach on Saturday. The loss puts the Waves in the contender's bracket to play No. 5 Hawai'i on Sunday at 10 a.m. for a chance to earn a spot in the championships.
The Waves (26-4) opened the match with first set wins on courts two and five, but the opposition had momentum with three first set wins of their own en route to a 3-0 final.
USC took their first win of the day on court three as sophomore duo Skylar Caputo (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) and Heidi Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) were downed by Terese Cannon and Nicolette Martin with a 21-16, 21-14 final mark.
Then, sophomore Anika Wilson (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos HS) and freshman Deahna Kraft (Seattle, Wash./Garfield HS) were defeated by Abril Bustamante and Joy Dennis with a 21-12, 22-20 result to put the Trojans in a position to clinch.
No. 1-pair, senior Delaney Knudsen (Valencia, Calif./Valencia HS) and sophomore Madalyn Roh (Scottsdale, Ariz./Chaparral HS) then fell to Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes with a score of 21-19, 21-9 to end the match.
No. 2-pair graduate student Brittany Howard (Mountain View, Calif./Mountain View HS/Stanford) and junior Corinne Quiggle (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Ponte Vedra HS) and the Waves No. 5-pair senior Sarah Seiber (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./Cathedral Catholic HS/Arizona) and sophomore Nikki Lyons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) each won their first sets over the Trojans.
The first match tomorrow will air on truTV and the finals will air on TBS. Follow @WavesBeachVB for updates and check on PepperdineWaves.com for full results, recaps and more!
RESULTS
Dual 30: No. 3 Pepperdine 0, No. 1 USC 3
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS ROUND 3 | MAY 5, 2017 | GULF SHORES PUBLIC BEACH | GULF SHORES, ALA.
No. 1: Kelly Claes/Sara Hughes (USC) def. Delaney Knudsen/Maddy Roh (PEPP) - 21-19, 21-9
No. 2: Corinne Quiggle/Brittany Howard (PEPP) vs. Sophie Bukovec/Allie Wheeler (USC) - 28-26, 4-10, unfinished
No. 3: Terese Cannon/Nicolette Martin (USC) def. Skylar Caputo/Heidi Dyer (PEPP) - 21-16, 21-14
No. 4: Abril Bustamante/Joy Dennis (USC) def. Anika Wilson/Deahna Kraft (PEPP) - 21-12, 22-20
No. 5: Sarah Seiber/Nikki Lyons (PEPP) vs. Jenna Belton/Jo Kremer (USC) - 23-21, 12-15, unfinished
Order of finish: 3, 4, 1*
