CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Pepperdine beach volleyball (18-10) swept Louisiana Monroe (5-16) and Cal State Bakersfield (7-18). The Waves dropped just two sets between their pair of games today.
Pepperdine 5, Louisiana Monroe 0
Emma Eden and Michaela Cyrani began the scoring with 21-16 and 22-20 set wins. The straight sets continued as Gabbie Perez and Maddy Snow triumphed 21-12 and 21-16. Sonia Mancuso and Alice Jagielska won their first contest 21-19 before unraveling their opponents 21-5 to earn the point in the second. Bella Avelar remained in the lineup, picking up a win on court five alongside Emma Bubelis 22-20 and 21-17.
Court four saw the Warhawks give the Waves the most trouble. Emi Erickson and Ginevra Merlini fell behind 21-18 before forcing the tie-breaker 21-17. In the third, they went back and forth before winning in extras, 16-14.
1. E. Eden/M. Cyrani (PEPP) def. A. Ryno/C. Williamson (ULM) 21-16, 22-20
2. G. Perez/M. Snow (PEPP) def. P. Ingersoll/A. Hunter (ULM) 21-12, 21-16
3. S. Mancuso/A. Jagielska (PEPP) def. M. Peterson/B. Bankston (ULM) 21-19, 21-5
4. E. Erickson/G. Merlini (PEPP) def. I. Zukowska/S. Rodriguez (ULM) 18-21, 21-17, 16-14
5. E. Bubelis/B. Avelar (PEPP) def. C. Otjen/A. Sondrup (ULM) 22-20, 21-17
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3*, 4, 5
Pepperdine 5, Cal State Bakersfield 0
Flights one and two were both seeing double. Eden and Cyrani won with a pair of 21-16 scores, while Snow and Perez took the point after going 21-13 twice. Mancuso and Jagielska held the Roadrunners to scores of just 11 and 17. Similarly, Bubelis and Avelar kept their Bakersfield opponents at just 10 and 17 points.
Flight four once again was met with the most resistance from their opponents. Erickson and Merlini won the first 21-15 but fell 22-20 in the second. Their final set was less theatrical than against ULM, securing the sweep 15-11.
Pepperdine has now defeated Cal State Bakersfield three times this season, to the tune of a combined 13-2 score.
1. E. Eden/M. Cyrani (PEPP) def. O. Silacci-Jensen/E. Markentin (CSUB) 21-16, 21-16
2. G. Perez/M. Snow (PEPP) def. K. Kaelin/V. Kaelin (CSUB) 21-13, 21-13
3. S. Mancuso/A. Jagielska (PEPP) def. E. Neville/K. Taylor (CSUB) 21-11, 21-17
4. E. Erickson/G. Merlini (PEPP) def. E. Ensign/V. Garcia (CSUB) 21-15, 20-22, 15-11
5. E. Bubelis/B. Avelar (PEPP) def. K. Milne/H. Montano (CSUB) 21-10, 21-17
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3*, 5, 4
Emma Eden and Michaela Cyrani surpassed the 20-win mark today, now boasting a record of 20-8—-all in the top flight. Gabbie Perez and Maddy Snow lead the team by one more win, sitting at 21-6. Bella Avelar has made limited appearances, but her only loss since being thrust into a starting role came against No. 8 Loyola Marymount. She is now 3-1.
Team 15 sports an 11-2 record in neutral site games, with one more on the way tomorrow.
There are Live Stats for the remaining two games. Tomorrow, the Waves begin against Tarleton State which kicks off the day at 6 a.m. PST with the weekend wrapping up against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 8 a.m. PST. This final match will also be streamed on ESPN+ for subscribers.
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.
