#9 Beach Volleyball Splits Pepperdine Invite; Defeats #17 LBSU 3-2

MALIBU, CALIF. – The #9 Pepperdine beach volleyball team returned to Malibu on Sunday, splitting a pair of matches in the Pepperdine Invite including a 3-2 win over #17 Long Beach State and a 4-1 loss to #3 USC.

Melanie Paul and Simone Priebe highlighted the day for the Waves (1-3), going undefeated in two duals and 4-1 in sets played against opponents.

RESULTS
Dual 1: #9 PEPPERDINE 3, #17 LONG BEACH STATE 2
1. Brook Bauer/Carly Skjodt (PEPP) def. Mari Molina/Tyler Spriggs (LBSU) – 21-19, 21-17
2. Alexis Filippone/Sutton Mactavish (PEPP) def. Nicci Reinking/Makenzie Griffin (LBSU) – 21-16, 21-16
3. Melanie Paul/Simone Priebe (PEPP) def. Kenzie Holtz/Katie Kennedy (LBSU) – 21-14, 21-12
4. Alice Pratesi/Skyler Germann (LBSU) def. Jordan Benoit/Mary Sinclair (PEPP) – 21-12, 16-21, 20-22
5. Jillian Rodriguez/Emily Mattoon (LBSU) def. Katie Gavin/Calista Wright (PEPP) – 18-21, 11-21
EXH: Kristine Briede/Cameron Baklenklo (PEPP) vs. Hanna Farnsworth/Madison Smeathers (LBSU) – 24-22, 19-21
Order of finish: 2, 4, 3, 1*, 5

Dual 3: #3 USC 4, #9 PEPPERDINE 1
1. Tina Graudina/Sammy Slater (USC) def. Brook Bauer/Carly Skjodt (PEPP) – 21-17, 19-21, 15-7
2. Hailey Harward/Julia Scoles (USC) def. Alexis Filippone/Sutton Mactavish (PEPP) – 21-11, 21-13
3. Melanie Paul/Simone Priebe (PEPP) def. Haley Hallgren/ Megan Kraft (USC) – 21-16, 14-21, 15-13
4. Joy Dennis/Delaynie Maple (USC) def. Calista Wright/Mary Sinclair (PEPP) – 21-13, 21-14
5. Audrey Nourse/Nicole Nourse (USC) def. Kristine Briede/Jordan Benoit(PEPP) –21-17, 21-13
6X: Harper Hallgren/Paige Dreeuws (USC) def. Gracie Pedersen/Cameron Baklenklo (PEPP) – 21-17, 21-17
Order of finish: 4, 2, 5*, 3, 1

STATS
Dual 1 – PEPP vs. LBSU
1: Bauer: 12 kills; Skjodt: 15 kills, 1 block, 2 aces
2: Mactavish: 4 kills, 2 aces; Filippone: 24 kills, 2 blocks
3: Paul: 13 kills, 3 aces; Priebe: 13 kills, 4 blocks
4: Benoit: 21 kills, 2 blocks, 5 aces; Sinclair: 10 kills, 5 aces
5: Gavin: 9 kills, 1 ace; Wright: 4 kills, 1 block, 1 ace
6: Baklenko: 8 kills; Briede: 9 kills, 1 block, 1 ace

Dual 2 – PEPP vs. USC
1: Bauer: 12 kills, 1 ace; Skjodt: 21 kills, 2 blocks
2: Mactavish: 5 kills, 1 ace; Filippone: 11 kills, 3 blocks
3: Paul: 21 kills, 3 aces; Priebe: 10 kills, 3 blocks, 1 ace
4: Sinclair: 6 kills, 1 ace; Wright: 10 kills, 1 block
5: Benoit: 5 kills; Briede: 10 kills, 2 blocks
6: Baklenko: 9 kills, 2 aces; Pedersen: 10 kills, 1 block, 1 ace

MATCH RECAPS
In the first match, the Waves came out strong in the first flight, collecting first set wins on all courts. Alexis Filippone and Sutton Mactavish finished their first match of the day off with a win to put the Waves on the board, defeating Nicci Reinking and Makenzie Griffin with a pair of 21-16 sets. Though Jordan Benoit and Mary Sinclair won their first set 21-12, LBSU won the following sets 21-16, 22-20 to tie things up.

In the second flight, the Waves once again came out strong, winning first sets on courts one and three. Melanie Paul and Simone Priebe put the Waves up 2-1 with a 21-14, 21-12 win over Kenzie Holtz and Katie Kennedy on court three to put Pepperdine in a position to clinch.

Brook Bauer and Carly Skjodt would do the honors on court one with a 21-19, 21-17 victory over Mari Molina and Tyler Spriggs for the first Waves' win of the season. The opposition would collect the win on court five to make it 3-2 on the day.

In the second match of the day, the Waves would face USC for a third time this season. The Trojans would take two-set wins on courts two and four in the first flight to pull ahead 2-0 and put Pepperdine in defensive mode for flight two.

Court five ended up being the deciding court of the match and the Trojans were able to secure the clinch with a 21-17, 21-13 victory in that position.

Courts one and three were exciting for each side, though, as all would extend to three-set decisions. Paul and Priebe split the opening sets with a 21-16 win and 21-14 loss to enter the third set, while Bauer and Skjodt would come back from a 21-17 loss in set one to win the second 21-19 and force the third.

Paul and Priebe went point-for-point with their foes, reaching a 13-13 tied score before pulling away for the 15-13 set win to put the home squad on the board. Though the Waves on one fought valiantly, the opposition finished off that match with a 15-7 victory to make it 4-1 overall.

NEXT UP
Next, #9 Pepperdine will host #6 Cal Poly on Sunday, March 14 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

#22 Gracie Pedersen: 5' 11"; 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

#22 Gracie Pedersen
: 5' 11"; Freshman; HS