WESTWOOD, Calif. – Pepperdine beach volleyball (2-6) dropped a pair of games against two ranked teams on the second day of the Battle 4 L.A. They first faced No. 11 Long Beach State (4-2), losing four sets to one before a sweep at the hands of No. 2 UCLA (7-2).
"The team will be ready to compete in Hawaii," said head coach Marcio Sicoli. "We'll be coming into the tournament after two weeks against really tough competition. We're excited to show all our growth after playing some of the toughest teams in the nation. It's a great opportunity for Pepperdine to compete on the islands. Go Waves!"
The morning began with a rematch against the Beach. Pepperdine improved off their initial meeting against LBSU, avoiding the sweep by virtue of the freshmen flight of Alice Jagielska and Sonia Mancuso. The duo needed three sets on court three to put the Waves on the board.
The next test came against the second-ranked Bruins. Maddy Snow and Gabbie Perez pushed the second match to three, but the UCLA pair of Alexa Fernandez and Cassie Dodd got to 15 before their Pepperdine opposition.
Pepperdine vs. No. 11 Long Beach State
1s: Eden/Cyrani (15, 18) vs. Gementera/Hagenah (21, 21)
2s: Snow/Perez (18, 13) vs. Hinton/Wagdy (21, 21)
3s: Jagielska/Mancuso (15, 21, 15) vs. Phillips/Birch (21, 18, 11)
4s: Merlini/Erickson (15, 16) vs. Edwards/Standage (21, 21)
5s: Bubbelis/Woodruff (16, 10) vs. Wooley/Esser (21, 21)
Pepperdine vs. No. 2 UCLA
1s: Eden/Cyrani (17, 20) vs. Perez/Boyd (21, 22)
2s: Snow/Perez (15, 21, 11) vs. Fernandez/Dodd (21, 18, 15)
3s: Jagielska/Mancuso (17, 13) vs. Williamson/Alden (21, 21)
4s: Merlini/Erickson (14, 5) vs. Dueck/Cooper (21, 21)
5s: Bubelis/Woodruff (11, 14) vs. Ford/LaBreche (21, 21)
The Waves went 1-3 over two days at the Battle 4 L.A. They swept the Matadors downtown before faltering thrice against three-straight ranked opponents. Scores for each of the Battle 4 L.A. matches is as follows:
2/27: Pepperdine (5) vs. CSUN (0)
2/27: Pepperdine (0) at No. 4 USC (5)
2/28: Pepperdine (1) vs. No. 11 Long Beach State (4)
2/28: Pepperdine (0) at No. 2 UCLA (5)
Next, the Waves travel west for three days of action in the Hawai'i Tournament. Competition starts March 5 against (RV) UNC Wilmington.
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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