MALIBU, CALIF. – The #9 Pepperdine beach volleyball started the Waves' Invite on a high note, Saturday at Zuma Beach, taking 4-1 victories over #10 Stetson and #15 South Carolina before falling in a tight 3-2 battle to #14 Long Beach State.
 
The loss at home is the Waves' fourth all-time, having taken losses in 2015, 2017 and 2019 as well, with the previous losses being to top-ranked UCLA and USC twice.
 
PEPPERDINE RESULTS:
Dual 1: #9 PEPPERDINE 4, #15 SOUTH CAROLINA 1
1: Deahna Kraft/Brook Bauer (PEPP) def. Jess Vastine/Carly Schnieder (USC) – 21-19, 21-14
2: Alexis Filippone/Gigi Hernandez (PEPP) def. Skylar Allen/Katie Smith (USC) – 21-19, 22-24, 15-13
3: Carly Skjodt/Sutton Mactavish (PEPP) def. Franky Harrison/Avery Davis (USC) – 21-19, 21-9
4: Simone Priebe/Melanie Paul (PEPP) def. Madison Brabham/Hannah Edelman (USC) – 23-25, 21-13, 15-11
5: Morgyn Greer/Jordan Smith (USC) def. Savana Greene/Katie Gavin (PEPP) – 21-19, 21-16
X: Peyton Lewis/Maddy Bailey (PEPP) vs. Kaeli Crews/Sarah Nacouzi (USC) – 18-21, 21-17, 14-16
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 5, 4*, 2
 
Dual 3: #9 PEPPERDINE 4, #10 STETSON 1
1: Deahna Kraft/Brook Bauer (PEPP) def. Kyce Martin/Ana Costa (SU) – 20-22, 21-18, 15-12
2: Carly Perales/Sunniva Helland-Hanson (SU) def. Alexis Filippone/Gigi Hernandez (PEPP) – 21-14, 21-19
3: Carly Skjodt/Sutton Mactavish (PEPP) def. Yasmin Kuck/Shae Henson (SU) – 21-19, 21-9
4: Simone Priebe/Melanie Paul (PEPP) def. Rebecca Ingram/Quinci Birker (SU) – 21-19, 18-21, 15-10
5: Peyton Lewis/Maddy Bailey (PEPP) def. Karmyn Johnson/Maddie Bobes (SU) – 21-17, 16-21, 15-13
X: Michaela Kasper/Mary Sinclair (PEPP) vs. Katinka Krahn/Oda Homme (SU) – 21-16, 24-22
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1, 4*, 5

Dual 5: #9 PEPPERDINE 2. #14 LONG BEACH STATE 3
1: Mari Molina/Tyler Spriggs (LBSU) def. Deahna Kraft/Brook Bauer (PEPP) – 14-21, 21-16, 15-11
2: Alexis Filippone/Gigi Hernandez (PEPP) vs. Sydney Stevens/Katie Kennedy (LBSU) – 21-16, 21-12
3: Carly Skjodt/Sutton Mactavish (PEPP) vs. Alice Pratesi/Makenzie Griffin (LBSU) – 21-9, 21-11
4: Nicci Reinking/Claire Newlander (LBSU) def. Simone Priebe/Melanie Paul (PEPP) – 15-21, 21-18, 15-9
5: Jillian Rodriguez/Emily Mattoon (LBSU) def. Maddy Bailey/Peyton Lewis (PEPP) – 21-11, 21-15
X: Michaela Kasper/Mary Sinclair (PEPP) vs. Savannah Lyons/Hanna Farnsworth (LBSU) – 21-12, 20-22, 1-10
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 5, 4, 1*

OTHER RESULTS:
Dual 2: #10 STETSON 4, #14 LONG BEACH STATE 1
1: Kyce Martins/Ana Costa (SU) def. Mari Molina/Tyler Spriggs (LBSU) – 21-18, 15-21, 18-16
2: Carly Perales/Sunniva Helland-Hanson (SU) def. Sydney Stevens/Katie Kennedy (LBSU) – 21-15, 21-17
3: Shae Henson/Yasmin Kuck (SU) def. Alice Pratesi/Makenzie Griffin (LBSU) – 21-10, 21-18
4: Nicci Reinking/Claire Newlander (LBSU) def. Kamryn Johnson/Maddie Bobes (SU) – 21-15, 21-14
5: Rebecca Ingram/Quinci Birker (SU) def. Jillian Rodriguez/Emily Mattoon (LBSU) – 15-21, 21-14, 15-9
X: Katinka Krahn/Oda Stray Homme (SU) vs. Savannah Lyons/Sophie Major (LBSU) – coaches report
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 4, 5*, 1
 
Dual 4: #15 SOUTH CAROLINA 3,  #14 LONG BEACH STATE 2
1: Jess Vastine/Carly Schnieder (USC) def. Mari Molina/Tyler Spriggs (LBSU) – 15-21, 21-17, 17-15
2: Skylar Allen/Katie Smith (USC) def. Sydney Stevens/Katie Kennedy (LBSU) – 21-14, 21-17
3: Franky Harrison/Avery Davis (USC) def. Alice Pratesi/Makenzie Griffin (LBSU) – 20-22, 21-11, 17-15
4: Nicci Reinking/Claire Newlander (LBSU) def. Madison Brabham/Hannah Edelman (USC) – 21-14, 18-21, 15-13
5: Jillian Rodriguez/Emily Mattoon (LBSU) def. Morgyn Greer/Jordan Smith (USC) – 21-17, 17-21, 15-8
X: Savannah Lyons/Hanna Farnsworth (LBSU) vs. Kaeli Crews/Sarah Nacouzi (USC) – coach reports.
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 5, 4, 1*
 
MATCH RECAP
The Waves kicked off the busy day by winning three first sets against South Carolina to gain the edge.  On court one, Deahna Kraft and Brook Bauer would be the first to finish with a 21-19, 21-14 win over Jess Vastine and Carly Schnieder.  Carly Skjodt and Sutton Mactavish then won 21-19, 21-9 on court three over Franky Harrison and Avery Davis to put the Waves up 2-0, before the Gamecocks would win 21-19, 21-16 on court five.
 
The court four Waves would do the clinching duties, as Melanie Paul and Simone Priebe took down Madison Brabham and Hannah Edelman 23-25, 21-13, 15-11.  In the final match in action, Alexis Filippone and Gigi Hernandez closed the Waves out with the 4-1 victory after defeating Skylar Allen and Katie Smith 21-19, 22-24, 15-13 on court two.
 
In the second match for Pepperdine, the Waves once again took three first set wins to set the tone, although Stetson would take the first overall win with a two-set victory on court two.
 
Skjodt and Mactavish closed up shortly after with a 21-19, 21-9 win over Yasmin Kuck and Shae Henson in the No. 3 position.  On court one, Bauer and Kraft would give the home team the edge with a 20-22, 21-18, 15-12 victory over Kyce Martin and Ana Costa to put the Waves up 2-1.
 
Court four would clinch for the second time in the day, seeing Paul and Priebe besting Rebecca Ingram and Quinci Birker 21-19, 18-21 and 15-10 for the three-set clinch.  Closing up shop, Maddy Bailey and Peyton Lewis battled back from a 21-17, 16-21 split with Maddie Bobes and Katinka Krahn.  The Waves were down 10-5 at one point, but slowly closed the gap and tied things up, overcoming the Gamecocks to take the 15-13 set win and make it 4-1 overall for the dual.
 
After a long day, Pepperdine faced off with the final opponent in #14 Long Beach State.  The Waves won first sets on four-of-five courts, but Beach rallied with three second set wins to force extra sets. 
 
Pepperdine won on courts two and three to pull ahead early.  Skjodt and Mactavish finished first with a demanding 21-9, 21-11 win over Alice Pratesi and Makenzie Griffin on court three.  The in the No. 2 slot, Filippone and Hernandez made quick work of Sydney Stevens and Katie Kennedy with a 21-16, 21-12 victory.
 
After gaining the edge in the second set, LBSU went on to win on courts five, four and then one to secure the 3-2 overall dual win.
 
NEXT UP
Next, the Waves make a short trip to take on USC and UCLA at Merle Norman in Los Angeles, Calif. on Wednesday, March 11, before returning to Zuma Beach on Saturday, March 14 for the Zuma Classic, hosting UCLA, Cal Poly and Georgia State.
 
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