No. 11 Long Beach State Falls to No. 17 Arizona, No. 7 Grand Canyon to End Arizona Invitational

Saturday, April 16

Tucson, Ariz.

9 A.M.

Long Beach State University

Arizona

Nicci Reinking and Claire Newlander, Kristian Kuld

Photo by: John Fajardo

No. 11 Long Beach State Falls to No. 17 Arizona, No. 7 Grand Canyon to End Arizona Invitational

4/16/2022 1:38:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball

The losses snap the Beach’s five-match winning streak.

By: Gabriel Quimpo, Athletic Communications Intern

TUCSON, Ariz. - Coming off a dominating performance on Friday, No. 11 Long Beach State was poised to end the Arizona Invitational strong. Unfortunately, the Beach suffered two hard-fought losses against No. 17 Arizona and No. 7 Grand Canyon, both 3-2.

Long Beach State's first dual of the day saw them face off against No. 17 Arizona. The Beach and the Wildcats went back and forth, as Skyler Germann/Alice Pratesi defeated their opponents in two sets, 21-18 and 21-12, and Emily Mattoon/Jillian Rodriguez clinched a three-set victory, winning the second and third sets in a row, 21-9 and 15-11. The match ultimately came down to the third set of the fifth flight to decide the winner. Both sides went all out, but Long Beach fell just short of Arizona.

Fired up from the close loss against Arizona, Long Beach State was looking to knock off No. 7 Grand Canyon. The Beach suffered an early loss in the first match, but pushed the rest of the matches to third-set deciders. Unfortunately, Grand Canyon came out on top in the second and third matches. Nicci Reinking/Claire Newlander and Alice Pratesi/Skyler Germann sealed their matches, finishing off the invitational strong and securing the Beach two points against the Lopes.

Long Beach State will return to play in Los Angeles on Friday, April 22 against Cal State LA at 1 p.m. and No. 6 Loyola Marymount at 3 p.m.

#17 Arizona 3, #11 Long Beach State 2
1. Skyler Germann/Alice Pratesi (LBSU) def. Alex Parkhurst/Alana Rennie (UA) 21-18, 21-12
2. Sarah Blacker/Maja Kaiser (UA) def. Katie Kennedy/Sydney Stevens (LBSU) 17-21, 21-19, 15-11
3. Emily Mattoon/Jillian Rodriguez (LBSU) def. Dilara Gedikoglu/Jasmine Safar (UA) 20-22, 21-9, 15-11
4. Dana Parker/Abby Russell (UA) def. Claire Newlander/Nicci Reinking (LBSU) 21-18, 21-11
5. Annie Kost/Hope Shannon (UA) def. Christine Deroos/Sophie Major (LBSU) 18-21, 21-13, 15-12
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 3, 2, 5

#7 Grand Canyon 3, #11 Long Beach State 2
1. Skyler Germann/Alice Pratesi (LBSU) def. Anaya Evans/Jess Vastine (GCU) 22-24, 21-17, 15-12
2. Allison Hansen/Allanis Navas (GCU) def. Katie Kennedy/Sydney Stevens (LBSU) 21-12, 15-21, 16-14
3. Abbie Hughes/Krista Rowan (GCU) def. Emily Mattoon/Jillian Rodriguez (LBSU) 21-12, 23-21
4. Claire Newlander/Nicci Reinking (LBSU) def. Abbie Huges/Krista Rowan (GCU) 19-21, 23-21, 15-5
5. Dana Roskic/Cami Sanchez (GCU) def. Christine Deroos/Sophie Major (LBSU) 19-21, 21-14, 15-9
Order of Finish: 3, 5, 2, 4, 1