Waves Fall in Pair of Tightly Contested Top-15 Duals

Saturday, April 22

Los Angeles, Calif.

10:00 a.m. PT

Pepperdine University

LMU

Photo by: Kennedy Duke

Waves Fall in Pair of Tightly Contested Top-15 Duals

4/22/2023 5:08:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball

By: by Athletic Communications

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The #20 Pepperdine beach volleyball team trekked down the coast for a pair of top-15 matchups on Saturday, battling hard but falling 3-2 to both #5 PCH Cup rival LMU and #13 Washington.

Alexus McLeod and Aubrey Roberts were undefeated on the day for Pepperdine (16-12), taking down the Lions in the No. 3 position and then moving up to the No. 2 position to take care of business against the Huskies. On the exhibition court, Mari Wright and Emi Erickson also went undefeated with a pair of wins.

RESULTS
#5 LMU def. #20 Pepperdine, 3-2
No. 1: McKenna Thomas/Kate Clermont (PEPP) def. Melanie Paul/Vilhelmiina Prihti (LMU) – 21-19, 21-14
No. 2: Alisha Stevens/Abbey Thorup (LMU) def. Gracie Pedersen/Savannah Standage (PEPP) – 21-17, 21-15
No. 3: Alexus McLeod/Aubrey Roberts (PEPP) def. Jacinda Ramirez/Isabelle Refel (LMU) – 16-21, 22-20, 15-13
No. 4: Chloe Hooker/Cassie Chinne (LMU) def. Gracey Campbell/Gabriella Perez (PEPP) – 17-21, 21-14, 15-10
No. 5: Madi Firnett/Isabelle Tucker (LMU) def. Kristine Briede/Madison Oriskovich (PEPP) – 21-8, 21-14
Exh: Mari Wright/Emi Erickson (PEPP) def. Emily Anderson/Eleonore Johansen (LMU) – 22-20, 16-21, 15-13
Order of finish: 2, 4, 1, 5*, 3

#13 Washington def. #20 Pepperdine, 3-2
No. 1: Natalie Robinson/Chloe Loreen (UW) def. McKenna Thomas/Kate Clermont (PEPP) – 21-11, 21-11
No. 2: Alexus McLeod/Aubrey Roberts (PEPP) def. Piper Monk-Heidrich/Kendall Mather (UW) – 21-13, 18-21, 15-10
No. 3: Scarlett Dahl/Paloma Bowman (UW) def. Savannah Standage/Juju Quintero (PEPP) – 21-17, 21-14
No. 4: Teagan DeFalco/Mary Sinclair (UW) def. Gracey Campbell/Gabriella Perez (PEPP) – 35-33, 16-21, 15-12
No. 5: Kristine Briede/Madison Oriskovich (PEPP) def. Shannon Gormally/Maeve Griffin (UW) – 21-9, 21-18
Exh: Mari Wright/Emi Erickson (PEPP) def. Reagan Peterson/Hannah Yerex (UW) – 21-16, 21-11
Order of finish: 2, 5, 4, 1, 3*

MATCH RECAPS
In the first dual, the Lions came out strong and though the Waves on court four put up a good fight, the opposition would take a 2-0 lead. Mari Wright and Emi Erickson battled through a 22-20, 16-21, 15-13 win on the exhibition court to give Pepperdine some momentum heading into the next flight.

McKenna Thomas and Kate Clermont posted a 21-19, 21-14 win in the top position to get the Waves on the board. Though the Lions won in straight-sets in the No. 5 position to clinch the dual, Alexus McLeod and Aubrey Roberts ended the dual with a 16-21, 22-20, 15-13 win for the Waves to end on a high note, despite the 3-2 final dual result.

In the final dual of the day, the Waves came out firing. McLeod and Roberts opened up the dual with a 21-13, 18-21, 15-10 win in the No. 2 position to put the Waves on the board. Though the Huskies on court four countered with a three-set win of their own to tie things up, Wright and Erickson on the exhibition court ended the flight on a high note with the two-set 21-16, 21-11 win.

As court four was ending, Pepperdine's No. 5 duo, Kristine Briede and Madison Oriskovich, made quick work of their opposition with a 21-9, 21-18 win to give the Waves another lead. The Huskies on courts one and three would win in consecutive sets, however, taking the dual with a close 3-2 result.

NEXT UP
On April 27 and 28, the Waves will head to Santa Monica, Calif. for the West Coast Conference Championships at Ocean Park Beach.

FOLLOW
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