Pepperdine University
USC
Waves Battle to the Finish at NCAA Championships
5/7/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
SEASON STATS| NCAA BRACKET
GULF SHORES, Ala. - The 2017 NCAA National Beach Volleyball Championships was a battle to the finish between 3rd-ranked Pepperdine and top-ranked USC at Gulf Shores Public Beach on Sunday afternoon, with the Trojans finishing the match with a 3-2 win for the title.
The Waves finish the season with a 27-5 overall record, including a 17-5 record when facing nationally ranked teams. Their five losses came only from top-five nationally ranked squads.
The Waves split the opening flight with a win on court four and a loss on five. In the second round of matches, Pepperdine split courts one and two with a win on two to put the deciding moments on court three.
Sophomore duo Skylar Caputo (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) and Heidi Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) battled throughout, coming back from a 21-19 first set loss to win the second 21-18 over Terese Cannon and Nicolette Martin. The pair then went point-for-point en route to a 13-13 mark before the Trojans put the match away with a 15-13 victory to end the day.
In the first flight, sophomore Anika Wilson (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos HS) and freshman Deahna Kraft (Seattle, Wash./Garfield HS) dominated the opening moments towards a 21-14, 21-17 win over Abril Bustamante and Joy Dennis in the No. 4 position.
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) fell with a 21-18, 21-15 final mark to Jenna Belton and Jo Kremer to make it a 1-1 even match heading into the second flight.
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) were instrumental to the Waves during the match, winning the first set 21-18 before falling 21-16 in the second. The pair then put some Waves' work in to come back from a 10-12 deficit late in the set to win 15-13 and put the Waves up 2-1 on the day.
No. 1-pair, senior Delaney Knudsen (Valencia, Calif./Valencia HS) and sophomore Madalyn Roh (Scottsdale, Ariz./Chaparral HS) opened their match with a 21-19 first set win over Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes. The duo then dropped the second set 21-13, before battling it out in the third. The Trojans ended things with a 15-10 win to once again tie the match 2-2 and put all eyes on court three.
Next, the Waves will send four pairs and one alternate pair to the USAV Beach Pairs Tournament in Hermosa Beach, Calif. from May 11-13. Follow @WavesBeachVB for updates and check on PepperdineWaves.com for full results, recaps and more!
RESULTS
Dual 32: No. 3 Pepperdine 2, No. 1 USC 3
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS FINAL | MAY 7, 2017 | GULF SHORES PUBLIC BEACH | GULF SHORES, ALA.
No. 1: Kelly Claes/Sara Hughes (USC) def. Delaney Knudsen/Maddy Roh (PEPP) - 19-21, 21-13, 15-10
No. 2: Corinne Quiggle/Brittany Howard (PEPP) vs. Sophie Bukovec/Allie Wheeler (USC) - 21-18, 16-21, 15-13
No. 3: Terese Cannon/Nicolette Martin (USC) def. Skylar Caputo/Heidi Dyer (PEPP) - 21-19, 18-21, 15-13
No. 4: Anika Wilson/Deahna Kraft (PEPP) def. Abril Bustamante/Joy Dennis (USC) - 21-14, 21-17
No. 5: Jenna Belton/Jo Kremer (USC) def. Sarah Seiber/Nikki Lyons (PEPP) - 21-18, 21-15
Order of finish: 4, 5, 2, 1, 3*
