Waves Close North Florida Invite with Pair of Wins

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The #19 Pepperdine beach volleyball team finished the North Florida Invite on a high note Saturday morning with a pair of wins over #17 Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast University.

The Waves (13-6) finished 2-2 on the weekend with a pair of wins today, the team’s second win over a higher-ranked opponent this season. Pepperdine first defeated FGCU (10-11) 4-1 before closing out the tournament with an upset 3-2 win over #17 Stetson (13-10).

Pepperdine’s pairs at No. 1, No. 4, and No. 5 lost on the final day of competition. McKenna Thomas and Kate Clermont collected the final out of the Hatters on the first pitch.

SCORE
#19 Pepperdine def. Florida Gulf Coast, 4-1

No. 1: McKenna Thomas/Kate Clermont (PEPP) def. Kacie Johnson/Madison Parmelly (FGCU) 21-18, 19-21, 15-12
No. 2: Alexus McLeod/Jordan Benoit (PEPP) def. Shelby Beisner/Trinity Rosales (FGCU) 21-18, 24-26, 15-10
No. 3: Kaitlyn Luebbers/Dylan Brewer (FGCU) def. Juju Quintero/Aubrey Roberts (PEPP) 21-19, 11-21, 15-10
No. 4: Gracey Campbell/Gabriella Perez (PEPP) def. Lexi Hamilton/Nicole De Oliveira (FGCU) 20-22, 11-21, 10-15
No. 5: Kristine Briede/Madison Oriskovich (PEPP) def. Jacqueline Carpenter/Kristina Gluc (FGCU) 21-14, 21-11
Finishing order: 5, 4, 3, 2*, 1

#19 Pepperdine def. #17 Stetson, 3-2

No. 1: McKenna Thomas/Kate Clermont (PEPP) def. Karin Zolnercikova/Shae Henson (STET) 21-14, 21-11
No. 2: Anete Namike/Carolina Ferraris (STET) final. Alexus McLeod/Jordan Benoit (PEPP) 21-6, 21-10
No. 3: Gabriella Bramante/Tori Clement (STET) def. Juju Quintero/Aubrey Roberts (PEPP) 21-18, 15-21, 15-9
No. 4: Gracey Campbell/Gabriella Perez (PEPP) def. Audrey Gauthier/Noelle Weintraub (STET) 21-16, 18-21, 15-8
No. 5: Kristine Briede/Madison Oriskovich (PEPP) def. Klea Sirois/Lauren Della (STET) 19-21, 21-16, 15-11
No. 6: Chase Curry/Emi Erickson (PEPP) def. Stadnik Aleksandra/Alina Urzua (STET) 21-19, 21-13
Finishing order: 4, 5, 1*, 2,

MATCH SYSTEMS

In the opener against Florida Gulf Coast Kristine Briede and Madison Oriskovich would do some quick damage, picking up a 21-14, 21-11 victory at the No. 5 spot, putting Pepperdine on the board early. On four fields, Gracey Campbell and Gabriella Perez then battled back from a 22-20 first-set deficit to win the second set 21-18 and force a third. The freshman duo then handily took a 15-10 third set win to give the Waves a 2-0 lead and the position. The Eagles took a three-run win at No. 3 to make it 2-1.

Alexus McLeod and Jordan Benoit rose strongly to 2nd place and won their match 21-18. Although the pair fell in a tight 26-24 second set, they took a 15-10 third-set victory to claim the double. McKenna Thomas and Kate Clermont ended the action with a victory 21-18, 19-21, 15-12 in the top spot for a final score of 4-1.

In the second game against #17 Stetson, the Waves first flight put the team in a good position. Campbell and Perez split the opening sets on court four 21-16, 18-21 before dominating the third set 15-8 to put Pepperdine on the board first. Briede and Oriskovich came back from a 21-19 first set deficit to win the second set 21-16 and force a third set. The duo outscored their opponents 15-11 and gave the team a 2-0 lead going into the second flight.

Clermont and Thomas did the honors on court one and would get the double with a solid 21-14, 21-11 win. The Hatters closed out the match with wins over the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds to complete the doubleheader, but the Waves got the upper hand with a 3-2 win.

NEXT

Tomorrow, the Waves close out the North Florida Invite against Florida Gulf Coast and #17 Stetson at 5 and 9 PT. Live scores are available via links on the website.

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