Long Beach State University
Pepperdine
Beach Volleyball Drops A Pair On Opening Day
3/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
Zuma Beach, Calif. - Long Beach State fell to No. 2 Pepperdine and pushed No 6 UCLA to the limit, but lost both of its dual matches on the opening day of the season.
Long Beach State (0-2) started off the day against the hosts of the Pepperdine Invitational, and the Waves won 5-0 over the fourth-ranked 49ers, even though the Beach did push two of those matches to three sets.
Playing at the ones for the first time, Nele Barber and Sammee Thomas nearly took down Heidi Dyer and Taylor Racich of Pepperdine (1-0), winning the first set 25-23 before ultimately falling 21-15, 15-10 in the final two sets. Zoi Konstantopoulou and Mykah Wilson had the first of two heartbreakers on the day, beating Maddy Roh and Anita Wilson 21-19 in the first set before falling 21-17, 17-15 at No. 4.
The Beach dropped their other three matches of the day in straight sets to the Waves.
The second match of the day was an extremely competitive contest with No. 6 UCLA (1-0). The teams split the top two pairs, as Nicole and Megan McNamara defeated Barber and Thomas 21-11, 21-18 at No. 1, while Rachel Nieto and Kobi Pekich beat Izzy Carey by the same margin at No. 2.
Long Beach State got a crucial comeback win at No. 5 from Megan Kruidhof and Morea Wagner over Julie Consani and Laurel Weaver, 19-21, 21-13, 18-16, but saw Jenelle Hudson and Ciana Wagner fall 21-19, 21-11 to Kamila Tan and Ivey Schmitt to keep the scores even.
Konstantopoulou and Wilson rebounded from a 21-14 loss in the first set against Reily Buchler and Zana Muno by winning the second set 12-21 in the deciding match, but the Bruin duo took the final set 17-15 to win the match.
The Beach has two more tough matches coming up tomorrow in the Pepperdine Invitational, playing No. 3 Hawai'i at 11:30 a.m. before closing out the tournament against No. 1 USC at 2 p.m.
No. 2 Pepperdine 5, No. 4 Long Beach State 0
1) Heidi Dyer/Taylor Racich, PEP def. Nele Barber/Sammee Thomas, LBSU 23-25, 21-15, 15-10
2) Kaity Bailey/Delaney Knudsen, PEP def. Rachel Nieto/Kobi Pekich, LBSU 21-17, 21-16
3) Syler Caputo/Corinne Quiggle, PEP def. Jenelle Hudson/Ciana Wagner, LBSU 21-10, 21-10
4) Maddy Roh/Anita Wilson, PEP def. Zoi Konstantopoulou/Mykah Wilson, LBSU 19-21, 21-17, 17-15
5) Sam Cash/Sarah Seiber, PEP def. Megan Kruidhf/Morea Wagner, LBSU 22-20, 21-16
No. 6 UCLA 3, No. 4 Long Beach State 2
1) Nicole McNamara/Megan McNamara, UCLA def. Nele Barber/Sammee Thomas, LBSU 21-11, 21-18
2) Rachel Nieto/Kobi Pekich, LBSU def. Izzy Carey/Elise Zappia, UCLA 21-11, 21-18
3) Kamila Tan/Ivey Schmitt, UCLA def. Jenelle Hudson/Ciana Wagner, LBSU 21-19, 21-11
4) Reily Buchler/Zana Muno, UCLA def. Zoi Konstantopoulou/Mykah Wilson LBSU 21-14, 12-21, 17-15
5) Megan Kruidhof/Morea Wagner, LBSU def. Julie Consani/Laurel Weaver, UCLA 19-21, 21-13, 18-16
