SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Pepperdine beach volleyball (15-9) won both of their matches on the first day of the West Coast Challenge from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The Waves swept Portland (4-13) and defeated Santa Clara (11-8) 4-1.
By virtue of their two wins today, the Waves are set for the Gold Bracket on day two. A win versus (17-7) Saint Mary's tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. would propel them into the championship match against the winner of LMU/Santa Clara. The lowest they could possibly finish is fourth place.
Pepperdine 5, Portland 0
The Waves dispatched the Pilots in straight sets across the board. Portland suffered defeats larger than five points in half of their rallies against Pepperdine.
Emma Eden and Michaela Cyrani raced onto the scoreboard first, taking 21-12 and 21-17 victories.
Emma Bubelis and Deanie Woodruff continued the Pepperdine success from flight four. Their performance steered another tally into the win column, courtesy of 21-14 and 21-16 outings.
Emi Erickson and Ginevra Merlini flew past their Pilot opponents, outpacing them 21-9 and 21-13 to clinch the overall victory.
Gabbie Perez and Maddy Snow did not make their usual appearance in the second slot, prompting each duo that typically proceeds them to move up one on the billing. Sonia Mancuso and Alice Jagielska responded to the moment, picking up 21-15 and 21-17 wins on court two.
Two new faces for the orange and blue secured the sweep. Excluding exhibitions, Nicole Thorp and Alexa Markley made their season debuts. A 21-19 win in set one was as close as the Pilots got across the game, before the grad transfer and freshman ended the formality 21-17 in set two.
1: E. Eden/M. Cyrani (PEPP) def. E. Larsson/L. Freytag (POR) 21-12, 21-17
2: S. Mancuso/A. Jagielska (PEPP) def. S. Incitti/T. Mercer (POR) 21-15, 21-17
3: E. Erickson/G. Merlini (PEPP) def. M. Strati/V. Bruk (POR) 21-9, 21-13
4: E. Bubelis/D. Woodruff (PEPP) def. E. Ortiz/N. Mitchell (POR) 21-14, 21-16
5: N. Thorp/A. Markley (PEPP) def. M. Cormack/J. Hildenbrand (POR) 21-19, 21-17
Order of finish: 1, 4, 3*, 2, 5
Pepperdine 4, Santa Clara 1
The Waves clinched the win against the Broncos by sweeping the first three matches in straight sets. While the overall team victory was already decided, the final two matches to finish were dramatic three set battles.
In their first appearance of the day, Gabbie Snow and Maddie Perez picked up where they left off. They took the first point of the match with set wins of 21-15 and 21-8.
Emma Eden and Michaela Cyrani went perfect on the day, with 21-15 and 21-16 set victories to make the score 2-0.
Emma Bubelis and Deanie Woodruff clinched the match after successful 21-18 and 21-17 sets.
Team 15 saw its ninth flight win of the day following the odyssean 18-16 third set win by Emi Erickson and Ginevra Merlini. The two needed the tie-breaker after winning the first set 21-17 but dropping the second 13-21.
The only blemish of the day came in Pepperdine's final dual. Alice Jagielska and Sonia Mancuso dropped a hardfought point 15-13 in the deciding rally. They dropped the first set 21-16 before responding with a 21-13 showing to avoid the sweep.
1: E. Eden/M. Cyrani (PEPP) def. S. Snipes/A. Cukjati (SCU) 21-15, 21-16
2: G. Perez/M. Snow (PEPP) def. M. Hansen/N. Niedermann (SCU) 21-15, 21-8
3: T. Wilson/S. Wood (SCU) def. A. Jagielska/S. Mancuso (SCU) 21-16, 13-21, 15-13
4: E. Erickson/G. Merlini (PEPP) def. A. Urbina/C. Cantlen (SCU) 21-17, 13-21, 18-16
5: E. Bubelis/D. Woodruff (PEPP) def. A. Stoddard/T. Parouse (SCU) 21-18, 21-17
Order of finish: 2, 1, 5*, 4, 3
The Waves resume the midseason invitational tomorrow morning. They are set to face the Gaels at 10 a.m. The two teams matched up earlier this season in Hawaii, with Pepperdine prevailing 4-1. The outcome of this early game will decide both the Waves' playtime and final opponent in Santa Cruz.
No Live Stats are available, so follow along at home via Instagram, X, and the schedule page.
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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