MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine beach volleyball (1-1) earned a clean 5-0 sweep over Vanguard (0-2) to open the 2026 season this morning, before falling to No. 19 Washington (2-0) in a closely-contested 2-3 loss.
"I'm proud of our young team today," said head coach Marcio Sicoli. "We were six points short of winning a dual. The near future is bright and stoked for them! See you tomorrow!"
Shaking off the rust was not a concern, as the Waves quickly demonstrated against Vanguard. Each set was a 2-0 Pepperdine victory, en route to a 5-0 sweep.
Sonia Mancuso and Alice Jagielska held it down on court three when the Lions threatened to steal a point. The Malibu pair earned the OT victory 25-23 in the first set, before dismantling their opposition 21-8 in the following rally. The 25-23 output was the highest tally for Vanguard against the Waves, with eight of the Lion's ten sets seeing totals below 17.
Gabbie Perez and Maddy Snow took down Cassie Smits Van Owen and Jordan Parker 21-12 and 21-14 on court two.
Down on court four Emi Erickson and Ginevra Merlini beat Anne Mayfield and Jenae Moore 21-11 and 21-14.
The first pair of Emma Eden and Michaela Cyrani won both of their sets 21-16 and 21-11, respectively.
To give the Waves the sweep, Emma Bubelis and Deanie Woodruff won the first set 21-10 and fended off the Lions in a close 22-20 rally in the second.
Twice against No. 19 Washington, the Waves fell in the third set. It was ultimately the difference in the 2-3 defeat.
Maddy Snow and Gabbie Perez duked it out on the second court. After falling behind a set (18-21), they earned a victory in extras in the following duel 22-20. Riding the wave of the crowd behind them, they earned the team point by virtue of their 15-10 win in the third set.
Emma Eden and Michaela Cyrani provided the Waves with the other point against the Huskies. They blanked their competitors 21-18 and 21-16.
Pepperdine vs. Vanguard
1s: Eden/Cyrani (21, 21) vs. Snider/Jospehine (16, 11)
2s: Perez/Snow (21, 21) vs. Smits Van Oyen/Packer (12, 14)
3s: Jagielska/Doezema (25, 21) vs. Bennett/Johnston (23, 8)
4s: Erickson/Merlini (21, 21) vs. Mayfield/Moore (11, 14)
5s: Bubelis/Woodruff (21, 22) vs. Pecile/Starling (10, 20)
Pepperdine vs. UW
1s: Eden/Cyrani (21, 21) vs. Pantovic/Egan (18, 16)
2s: Perez/Snow (18, 22, 15) vs. Brown Pabarcus (21, 20, 10)
3s: Erickson/Ginevre (19, 12) vs. Allen/Hohenauer (21, 21)
4s: Jagielska/Mancuso (19, 21, 13) vs. Tyus/Wilcock (21, 19, 15)
5s: Bubelis/Woodruff (16, 21, 11) vs. Urzua/Towne (21, 18, 15)
Tomorrow at 10 a.m. Pepperdine will get another crack at No. 19 Washington. The Waves will then face No. 10 Long Beach State at 2 p.m. following the noon neutral between the Huskies and Beach.
The StatBroadcast links for both of Pepperdine's matches are below:
DUAL 3: Pepperdine vs. No. 19 Washington | Saturday, Feb. 21 | 10 a.m.
DUAL 4: Pepperdine vs. No. 10 Long Beach State | Saturday, Feb. 21 | 2 p.m.
After they conclude the Pepperdine Challenge tomorrow, the team will compete in the "Battle 4 L.A." Feb. 27 and 28. Competition starts downtown at USC, before heading to Westwood for two matches at the Bruins' facilities.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Established in 2011, Pepperdine beach volleyball quickly rose to national prominence, winning two national championships in three years (2012, 2014) while reaching the final four in five of its first six seasons. Joining the WCC ahead of the 2016 season with the sport becoming NCAA-sanctioned, the Waves won the inaugural and first three WCC Championships while reaching eight straight conference championship games from 2016-24. The program has consistently recruited top talent in the sport, with 21 student-athletes garnering All-American honors since 2012.
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