LOS ANGELES, Calif.  —  The Pepperdine beach volleyball team fell to #3 USC and Concordia on the first day of the Battle 4 L.A. in Los Angeles, California.
 
#3 USC RECAP
In flight one, USC took an early 1-0 lead as the Trojans won court two in straight sets, 21-16, 21-16. Over in slot No. 4, Emma Bubelis (Northbrook, Ill.) and Marley Johnson (Stuart, Fla.) jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a 21-16 victory in the first set before USC forced a third with a 21-9 win in set two. In the final set, the Trojans defeated the Waves pair 15-9 and increased their lead to 2-0.
 
USC clinched the duel with a 21-13, 21-13 two-set win on court five. The Trojans then won court one 21-11, 21-19 to make it 4-0. In slot No. 3, Emma Eden (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Ella Foti (Madison, Wis.) dropped a hard-fought first set 20-22 before battling back and forcing a third with a 21-13 win in the second set. However, USC would complete the sweep with a 15-6 win in the deciding set.
 
CONCORDIA RECAP
The Golden Eagles came out swinging and took a 1-0 lead as they swept court two 21-19, 21-18. Concordia then extended their lead to 2-0 with a 21-18, 21-19 two-set win in slot No. 4.
 
On court one, Kate Clermont (Burlington, Ontario, Canada) and McKenna Thomas (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) took the first set 21-17 before falling in a tightly contested second 19-21. In the third, both pairs continued to trade points until the Waves duo pulled out a 17-15 win to make it a 2-1 contest in favor of the Golden Eagles.
 
On court five, Emi Erickson (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Deanie Woodruff (Point Loma, Calif.) lost the first set 16-21 before forcing a third with a 21-18 win in the second. In a back-and-forth final set, Concordia pulled out an 18-16 win to seal the victory and clinch the duel.
 
Eden and Foti dominated the first set 21-10 on court three, but the Golden Eagles came back and won the final two sets 21-18 and 16-14 to take the court and win the duel by a final score of 4-1.
 
RESULTS
#3 USC def. Pepperdine 5-0
No. 1. Madison White/Zoey Henson (USC) def. Kate Clermont/McKenna Thomas (PEPP) 21-11, 21-19
No. 2  Ashley Pater/Kennedy Coakley (USC) def. Madison Oriskovich/Gabriella Perez (PEPP) 21-16, 21-16
No. 3. Mabyn Thomas/Madison Goellner (USC) def.  Emma Eden/Ella Foti (PEPP) 20-22, 21-13, 6-15
No. 4. Delaney Karl/Kaileigh Truslow (USC) def. Emma Bubelis/Marley Johnson (PEPP) 16-21, 21-9, 15-9
No. 5. Calinda Kok/Ella Larkin (USC) def. Emi Erickson/Deanie Woodruff (PEPP) 21-13, 21-13
 
Order of finish: 2, 4, 5*, 1, 3
 
Concordia def. Pepperdine 4-1
No. 1. Kate Clermont/McKenna Thomas (PEPP) def. Kelissa Lemoine/Sara Ostojic (CUI) 21-17, 19-21, 17-15
No. 2  Ashley Rossi/Korah Nordin (CUI) def. Madison Oriskovich/Gabriella Perez (PEPP) 21-19, 21-18
No. 3. Gabrielle Reinking/Kelia Giusta (CUI) def. Emma Eden/Ella Foti (PEPP) 10-21, 21-18, 16-14
No. 4. Olivia Medina/Eva Prewitt (CUI) def. Emma Bubelis/Marley Johnson (PEPP) 21-18, 21-19
No. 5. Samantha Campion/Lexi Godbey (CUI) def. Emi Erickson/Deanie Woodruff (PEPP) 21-16, 18-21, 18-16
 
Order of finish: 2, 4, 1, 5*, 3
 
UP NEXT
The Waves will finish the Battle 4 L.A. tomorrow against #1 UCLA at 10 a.m. before taking on CSUN at 2 p.m. Both contests will be held at the UCLA Mapes Beach Courts and live stats can be found on the Pepperdine beach volleyball schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
 
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