JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The #19 Pepperdine beach volleyball team ended the North Florida Invite on a high note on Saturday morning, collecting a pair of wins over #17 Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast University.
 
The Waves (13-6) finished 2-2 on the weekend with the pair of wins today and it's the squad's second win over a higher-ranked opponent this season.  Pepperdine first downed FGCU (10-11) 4-1, before closing out the tournament with an upset 3-2 victory over #17 Stetson (13-10). 
 
Pepperdine's pairs in the No. 1, 4 and 5 positions went undefeated in the final day of competition, with McKenna Thomas and Kate Clermont collecting the clinch over the Hatters on court one in the finale.
 
RESULTS
#19 Pepperdine def. Florida Gulf Coast, 4-1
No. 1: McKenna Thomas/Kate Clermont (PEPP) def. Kacie Johnson/Madison Parmelly (FGCU) – 21-18, 19-21, 15-12
No. 2: Alexus McLeod/Jordan Benoit (PEPP) def. Shelby Beisner/Trinity Rosales (FGCU) – 21-18, 24-26, 15-10
No. 3: Kaitlyn Luebbers/Dylan Brewer (FGCU) def. Juju Quintero/Aubrey Roberts (PEPP) – 21-19, 11-21, 15-10
No. 4: Gracey Campbell/Gabriella Perez (PEPP) def. Lexi Hamilton/Nicole De Oliveira (FGCU) – 20-22, 21-11, 15-10
No. 5: Kristine Briede/Madison Oriskovich (PEPP) def. Jacqueline Carpenter/Kristina Gluc (FGCU) – 21-14, 21-11
Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 2*, 1
 
#19 Pepperdine def. #17 Stetson, 3-2
No. 1: McKenna Thomas/Kate Clermont (PEPP) def. Karin Zolnercikova/Shae Henson (STET) – 21-14, 21-11
No. 2: Anete Namike/Carolina Ferraris (STET) def. Alexus McLeod/Jordan Benoit (PEPP) – 21-6, 21-10
No. 3: Gabriella Bramante/Tori Clement (STET) def. Juju Quintero/Aubrey Roberts (PEPP) – 21-18, 15-21, 15-9
No. 4: Gracey Campbell/Gabriella Perez (PEPP) def. Audrey Gauthier/Noelle Weintraub (STET) – 21-16, 18-21, 15-8
No. 5: Kristine Briede/Madison Oriskovich (PEPP) def. Klea Sirois/Lauren Della (STET) – 19-21, 21-16, 15-11
No. 6: Chase Curry/Emi Erickson (PEPP) def. Stadnik Aleksandra/Alina Urzua (STET) – 21-19, 21-13
Order of finish: 4, 5, 1*, 2,
 
MATCH RECAPS
In the opening match against Florida Gulf Coast, Kristine Briede and Madison Oriskovich would do some quick damage, collecting a 21-14, 21-11 win from the No. 5 position to put Pepperdine on the board early.  On court four, Gracey Campbell and Gabriella Perez then battled back from a 22-20 first set loss to win 21-18 in the second and force a third.  The freshmen duo then handily took a 15-10 third set win to give the Waves a 2-0 lead and the position to clinch.  The Eagles would take a three-set win in the No. 3 position to make it 2-1.
 
Alexus McLeod and Jordan Benoit came out strong in the No. 2 position, posting a 21-18 win to open their match.  Though the pair fell in a tough 26-24 second set, they rallied for a 15-10 third set win to clinch the dual.  McKenna Thomas and Kate Clermont closed out the action with a 21-18, 19-21, 15-12 victory in the top spot for the 4-1 final score.
 
In the second matchup against #17 Stetson, the first flight of Waves put the squad in a good position.  Campbell and Perez split the opening sets on court four 21-16, 18-21, before dominating the third 15-8 to put Pepperdine on the board first.  Briede and Oriskovich rallied back from a 21-19 first set loss to win 21-16 in the second set and force a third.  The duo then downed their opponents 15-11 to give the squad a 2-0 lead heading into the second flight.
 
Clermont and Thomas would do the honors on court one, clinching the dual victory with a solid 21-14, 21-11 win.  The Hatters closed out the match with wins in the No. 2 and 3 positions to end the dual, but the Waves had the upper hand with a 3-2 win.
 
NEXT UP
Tomorrow, the Waves will close out the North Florida Invite against Florida Gulf Coast and #17 Stetson at 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. PT respectively.  Live scoring will be available with links found on the website.
 
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