SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – After falling to Saint Mary's to open the Gold Bracket of the West Coast Challenge at Main Beach on Sunday, the #18 Pepperdine beach volleyball team rallied back to defeat Santa Clara 4-1 for third-place.
 
The Waves (11-4) went toe-to-toe with the Gaels before falling 3-2 to head into the third-place bout with Santa Clara.  Rallying from the loss, Pepperdine rallied to quickly hand the Broncos their second loss in as many days.
 
The Waves' No. 2 and No. 5 pairs, Savannah Standage and Kate Clermont and Madison Oriskovich and Kristine Briede respectively, went undefeated throughout the day, both winning handily with two-set finishes.  The No. 2 duo improved their pairs record to 14-1, while the No. 5 pair is now 10-2 this season.
 
RESULTS
Saint Mary's def. #18 Pepperdine, 3-2
No. 1: Hawley Harker/Daniella Kensinger (SMC) def. McKenna Thomas/Alexus McLeod (PEPP) – 21-18, 21-19
No. 2: Savannah Standage/Kate Clermont (PEPP) def. Sadie Shipman/Genevieve Bane (SMC) – 21-12, 21-18
No. 3: Karmin Brown/Hannah Couch (SMC) def. Jasmin Suarez/Gracie Pedersen (PEPP) – 18-21, 21-17, 15-13
No. 4: Allie Cataldo/Paola Peralta (SMC) def. Gracey Campbell/Gabriella Perez (PEPP) – 21-18, 21-19
No. 5: Kristine Briede/Madison Oriskovich (PEPP) def. Angie Bour/Hailee Garcia (SMC) – 21-17, 21-12
Order of finish: 5, 1, 2, 4, 3*
 
#18 Pepperdine def. Santa Clara, 4-1
No. 1: McKenna Thomas/Alexus McLeod (PEPP) def. Julia Sangiacomo/Nicole Bobison (SMC) – 21-15, 15-21, 15-13
No. 2: Savannah Standage/Kate Clermont (PEPP) def. Katie Kishton/Casey Campbell (SMC) – 21-11, 21-9
No. 3: Jasmin Suarez/Gracie Pedersen (PEPP) def. Elena Radeff/Ella Duffner (SMC) – 21-14, 21-11
No. 4: Jordan Bennet/Clair Doud (SCU) def. Gracey Campbell/Gabriella Perez (PEPP) – 21-17, 19-21, 15-13
No. 5: Kristine Briede/Madison Oriskovich (PEPP) def. Hayley Hahn/Alexie Epstein (SMC) – 21-10, 21-15
Order of finish: 2, 3, 5*, 1, 4
 
MATCH RECAPS
In the opening match of the gold bracket, the Waves faced off with the Gaels, splitting the opening points.  As Kristine Briede and Madison Oriskovich downed their opposition on court five, 21-17, 21-12, SMC's pair on one would take a two-set win to counter. 
 
Savannah Standage and Kate Clermont then won in the No. 2 position with a 21-12, 21-18 victory to put the Waves one step closer to the title match.  Saint Mary's would have other plans, however, and after a the Gaels took court four, all eyes went to court three which had entered a fifth set.  The Waves put in a solid battle, but the opposition ended the match with a 15-13 final set.
 
In the dual for third-place, Pepperdine and Santa Clara battled it out, but the Waves would do some early damage.  Standage and Clermont won again on two to set the tone and Jasmin Suarez and Gracie Pedersen then downed their opponents 21-14, 21-11 to pull ahead by two.
 
Oriskovich and Briede had the momentum on court five, to clinch with a 21-10, 21-15 final win.  McKenna Thomas and Alexus McLeod would get the Waves in sweeping territory with a 21-15, 15-21, 15-13 win on court one, but the Broncos would avoid the sweep with a three-set win in the No. 4 position to end the day.
 
Juju Quintero and Aubrey Roberts and Jordan Benoit and Mari Wright also played in the No. 6 position in both duals respectively.
 
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