MALIBU, Calif. - The #19 Pepperdine beach volleyball split opening day of the 2024 season at the Pepperdine Beach Volleyball Courts on Saturday, dominating Vanguard before falling to #10 Long Beach State.
 
The Waves (1-1) team swept through the first dual of the season against Vanguard (0-2).  Though putting up a solid effort on multiple courts in the second dual of the day, Pepperdine fell to #10 Long Beach State (2-0) 5-0 in the second dual of the day.
 
RESULTS
#19 Pepperdine 5, Vanguard 0
No. 1: Kate Clermont/McKenna Thomas (PEPP) def. Hannah Wilmes/Emma Galloway (VAN) – 21-18, 21-15
No. 2: Gabriella Perez/Kaydon Meyers (PEPP) def. Madison Arnold/Madi Nash (VAN) – 21-16, 21-19
No. 3: Madison Oriskovich/Kristine Briede (PEPP) def. Paige Cutwright/Gianna Pecile (VAN) – 21-16, 21-16
No. 4: Gracie Pedersen/Aubrey Roberts (PEPP) def. Bailey Coffin/Kortney Hitt (VAN) – 21-16, 21-6
No. 5: Emi Erickson/Maya McNabney (PEPP) def. Emily Hon/Logan Daniels (VAN) – 21-10, 21-14
Exh: Ana Broadhead/Reece Fisher (VAN) def. Grace Jackson/Lauren Cook (PEPP) – 17-21, 21-14, 15-13
Order of finish: 4, 2, 3*, 1, 5
 
#10 Long Beach State def. #19 Pepperdine, 5-0
 No. 1: Malia Gementera/Taylor Hagenah (LBSU) def. Kate Clermont/McKenna Thomas (PEPP) – 21-13, 21-17
No. 2: Julia Westby/Savannah Standage (LBSU) def. Gabriella Perez/Kaydon Meyers (PEPP) – 21-15, 17-21, 16-14
No. 3: Mo Gibson/Natalie Glenn (LBSU) def. Madison Oriskovich/Kristine Briede (PEPP) – 21-11, 26-24
No. 4: Megan Widener/Christine Deroos (LBSU) def. Gracie Pedersen/Aubrey Roberts (PEPP) – 21-18, 21-17
No. 5: Haley Carrington/Livi Narancich (LBSU) def. Emi Erickson/Maya McNabney (PEPP) – 21-18, 21-16
Exh: Emily Sparks/Kate Stoughton (LBSU) def. Grace Jackson/Lauren Cook (PEPP) – 21-16, 21-13
Order of finish: 4, 2, 5*, 3, 1
 
MATCH RECAPS
In the first dual, the Waves made quick work of the Lions. Pepperdine quickly took a 2-0 lead after the first flight with a pair of two-set wins from Aubrey Roberts (Walnut Creek, Calif.) and Gracie Pedersen (Franklin, Tenn.) 21-16, 21-6 on court four and Kaydon Meyers (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Gabriella Perez (Loomis, Calif.) 21-16, 21-19 on court two.
 
Madison Oriskovich (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Kristine Briede (Balozi, Latvia) would be the pair to clinch the win as they took care of business on court three 21-16, 21-16.
 
McKenna Thomas (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and Kate Clermont (Burlington, Ontario) gave Pepperdine another leg up with a 21-18, 21-15 victory in the No. 1 position. Maya McNabney (Ancaster, Ontario) and Emi Erickson (Honolulu, Hawai'i) completed the sweep with an impressive 21-10, 21-14 win in the No. 5 slot.
 
In the following match against Long Beach State, Beach took a 1-0 lead after earning a two-set victory on court four. After dropping the first set 21-15, Meyers and Perez battled back and forced a third set on court two. The third set went back-and-forth, but Beach ultimately took a 2-0 lead after the first flight by winning the set 16-14.
 
Long Beach State continued to find success in the second flight as they clinched the dual on court five after a two-set victory. Beach ended up earning a 5-0 victory after a couple of wins on courts three and one.
 
NEXT UP
 
Pepperdine will remain in Malibu as the Waves host Boise State, Arizona, San Francisco and Vanguard on March 1-2 in the Malibu Invite.
 
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