MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIF. – The #3 Pepperdine beach volleyball team fell twice to open the East Meets West Invitational at the Manhattan Beach Pier courts on Saturday afternoon, first dropping to #4 Florida State 4-1 before falling 3-2 to #6 LSU.
 
The Waves (6-4) will continue with the tournament hosted by UCLA tomorrow with matches against #9 Florida International and #19 TCU.
 
RESULTS
#3 PEPPERDINE 1, #4 FLORIDA STATE 4
EAST MEETS WEST INVITATIONAL | MANHATTAN BEACH PIER | MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIF.
1. Brooke Kuhlman/Payton Rund (FSU) def. Brook Bauer/Heidi Dyer (PEPP), 21-12, 22-20
2. Gigi Hernandez/Deahna Kraft (PEPP) def. Alaina Chacon/Madison Fitzpatrick (FSU), 21-18, 19-21, 15-11
3. Molly McBain/Kate Privett (FSU) def. Skylar Caputo/Jenna Tunnell (PEPP), 21-13, 21-19
4. Sara Putt/Payton Caffrey (FSU) def. Maddie Dilfer/Alexis Filippone (PEPP), 22-20, 15-21, 15-11
5. Macy Jerger/Jenna Johnson (FSU) def. Melanie Paul/Simone Priebe (PEPP), 21-15, 21-10
Order of finish: 3, 5, 1*, 4, 3
 
#3 PEPPERDINE 2, #6 LSU 3
EAST MEETS WEST INVITATIONAL | MANHATTAN BEACH PIER | MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIF.
1. Claire Coppola/Kristen Nuss (LSU) def. Deahna Kraft/Brook Bauer (PEPP), 21-18, 23-21
2. Gigi Hernandez/Heidi Dyer (PEPP) def. Olivia Powers/Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope (LSU), 21-18, 19-21, 15-10
3. Alexis Filippone/Skylar Caputo (PEPP) def. Toni Rodriguez/Kelli Agnew (LSU), 22-20, 21-14
4. Taryn Kloth/Maddie Ligon (LSU) def. Simone Priebe/Maddie Dilfer (PEPP), 21-10, 21-12
5. Allison Coens/Hunter Domanski (LSU) def. Nikki Lyons/Katie Gavin, 21-15, 17-21, 15-13
Order of finish: 4, 3, 1, 5*, 2
 
MATCH RECAPS
In the first match, FSU secured first set wins on four of five courts to open the action, but Gigi Hernandez and Deahna Kraft countered on court two with a first set win of their own.  The Seminoles won on courts three and five in the second sets however, pulling ahead 2-0.  The Waves would be unable to overcome the opposition's momentum, and despite a three-set win on court two, fell 4-1 to open the tournament and the day.
 
The second match proved to be closer than the first of the day, although the opposition had the advantage with three first set wins to open the action.  The Waves came back in the second with second-set wins on three courts to force third sets on two.  Although Pepperdine fell on court four, Alexis Filippone and Skylar Caputo made progress with a 22-20, 21-14 win on court three to even the score.
 
The Tigers pulled ahead again with a win on court one, but the matches on courts two and five were extremely close in the third set.  After a 13-13 tied score on court five, Nikki Lyons and Katie Gavin dropped two points for LSU to secure the dual win. 
 
Hernandez and Heidi Dyer highlighted the match by besting Olivia Powers and Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope in the No. 2 slot 21-18, 19-21, 15-10 to end the day on a positive note.
 
NEXT UP
Tomorrow, Pepperdine closes out the East Meets West Invitational with duals against #19 TCU and #9 Florida International.
 
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