#10 Waves Drop Opening Duals to #4 USC

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. – The #10 Pepperdine beach volleyball team opened up the 2021 campaign with a pair of road duals at #4 USC's Merle Norman Stadium on Thursday afternoon, falling twice to the Trojans 4-1 and 5-0.

The Waves open the season at a 0-2 deficit and will face #19 Stanford on Sunday, February 28 in Malibu at 11 a.m.

RESULTS
Dual 1: #10 PEPPERDINE 1, #4 USC 4
1. Tina Graudina/Sammy Slater (USC) def. Brook Bauer/Carly Skjodt (PEPP) – 21-19, 18-21, 15-10
2. Hailey Harward/Julia Scoles (USC) def. Melanie Paul/Simone Priebe (PEPP) – 21-14, 21-17
3. Haley Hallgren/Megan Kraft (USC) def. Alexis Filippone/Sutton Mactavish (PEPP) – 21-16, 21-12
4. Jordan Benoit/Mary Sinclair (PEPP) def. Joy Dennis/Delaynie Maple (USC) – 19-21, 21-18, 17-15
5. Audrey Nourse/Nicole Nourse (USC) def. Katie Gavin/Gracie Pedersen (PEPP) – 21-14, 21-14
Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 2*, 1

Dual 2: #10 PEPPERDINE 0, #4 USC 5
1. Tina Graudina/Sammy Slater (USC) def. Brook Bauer/Carly Skjodt (PEPP) – 21-18, 21-16
2. Hailey Harward/Julia Scoles (USC) def. Alexis Filippone/Sutton Mactavish (PEPP) – 21-15, 21-19
3. Haley Hallgren/Joy Dennis (USC) def. Melanie Paul/Simone Priebe (PEPP) – 21-14, 21-19
4. Megan Kraft/Delaynie Maple (USC) def. Jordan Benoit/Mary Sinclair (PEPP) – 21-12, 21-15
5. Audrey Nourse/Nicole Nourse (USC) vs. Cameron Baklenko/Kristine Briede (PEPP) – 21-13, 21-12
EXH: Harper Hallgren/Maja Kaiser (USC) def. Katie Gavin/Gracie Pedersen (PEPP) – 21-15, 21-15
Order of finish: 4, 5, 1*, 3, 2

MATCH RECAP
In the first dual of the day, each side came out swinging, but the Trojans would be the first to strike, taking a pair of first set wins on courts four and five. USC would finish up on court five for the early 1-0 advantage, but Jordan Benoit and Mary Sinclair would even the score on court four.

After splitting the first two sets 19-21, 21-18, the Waves came out with a vengeance, gathering an early lead that would eventually turn into a tight 17-15 third set win to tie the overall dual score. In the second flight, the Trojans would once again take first set wins on all courts, and then took second set wins on courts two and three to clinch the win.

After falling 21-19 in the first set, Brook Bauer and Carly Skjodt evened their match with a 21-18 second set win. The favor would be USC's, however, as the Trojans marked a 15-10 set win to finish 4-1 in the opening dual of the season for both teams.

USC had the momentum from the first dual on their side as each team entered the first flight of the second dual. On courts four and five, the Trojans would take a pair of two-set wins to pull ahead 2-0 heading into flight two. On courts one, two and three, USC picked up first set wins to put the drive on their side of the court. Thought the Waves gave a valiant effort in the next sets, the Trojans were able to close things down with second set wins for a 5-0 sweep.

NEXT UP
Next, #10 Pepperdine will face #19 Stanford on Sunday, February 28 in Malibu.

HOME ATTENDANCE
Per the current COVID-19 guidelines set by the state of California and Los Angeles County, fans will not be permitted to attend home games.

FOLLOW
Follow @WavesBeachVB on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to PepperdineWaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Brook Bauer: 6' 1"; Senior; 3V

#15 Alexis Filippone: 6' 2"; Senior; 3V

#23 Katie Gavin: 5' 8"; Senior; 3V

#12 Sutton Mactavish: 6' 0"; Sophomore; 1V

#1 Melanie Paul: 5' 9"; Junior; 2V

#21 Simone Priebe: 5' 11"; Junior; 2V

#4 Mary Sinclair: 5' 11"; Sophomore; 1V

#11 Carly Skjodt: 6' 0"; Graduate Student; 1V

#5 Jordan Benoit: 5' 9"; Freshman; HS

#10 Cameron Baklenko: 5' 10"; Freshman; HS

Players Mentioned

#3 Brook Bauer
: 6' 1"; Senior; 3V

#15 Alexis Filippone
: 6' 2"; Senior; 3V

#23 Katie Gavin
: 5' 8"; Senior; 3V

#12 Sutton Mactavish
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; 1V

#1 Melanie Paul
: 5' 9"; Junior; 2V

#21 Simone Priebe
: 5' 11"; Junior; 2V

#4 Mary Sinclair
: 5' 11"; Sophomore; 1V

#11 Carly Skjodt
: 6' 0"; Graduate Student; 1V

#5 Jordan Benoit
: 5' 9"; Freshman; HS

#10 Cameron Baklenko
: 5' 10"; Freshman; HS