Beach Volleyball Ends The Battle For LA With A Win

Saturday, March 2

Los Angeles, Calif.

12:00 p.m.

Long Beach State University

UCLA

3/2/2024 6:01:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball

Long Beach State lost to UCLA but won against No. 13 Washington as the programs met for the first time.

By: Maxime Garcia, Athletic Communications Assisstant

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Long Beach State lost 4-1 to No. 1 UCLA after a tough match in the rain. They had a close match with the Huskies during the teams' first meeting and came out on top.

The duo of Standage and Westby were fighting hard to stay on the toes of their opponents but came up short in both of their sets. Glenn and Gibson were able to rip the first set away from Van Winkle and Whitmarsh but struggled in the second set. They had momentum throughout the third set as they were up until the Bruins went on a run to take the lead. The Long Beach pair tried to find a rhythm but lost 15-12. The dual was won by the Bruins on the fifth court. Luckily the tenacity of Deroos and Widener allowed the Beach to avoid the sweep. After dropping the first set the duo came back for a stellar second set. The third set was back and forth until a block by Deroos gave the duo the momentum they needed to close out the game on top.

The Huskies seemed to be evenly matched with the Beach as they were tied 1-1 in the dual after the first dual point was taken by the pair of Henson and Wilcock. Once again Deroos and Widener showed their power with big swings that took the first set. The second set saw their opponents find a rhythm but ultimately the duo would earn the Beach their first dual point to tie it up. The fifth flight struggled against their opponents as Washington went up 2-1 in the dual. The powerhouse of Glenn and Gibson were able to put away the match for the Beach. After a fast-paced first set they held their opponents to nine points in the second set. Gementera and Hagenah would also win their close sets against the Huskies which led the Beach to their final win of the day.

The Beach will play at LBCC this weekend as they host Southern Miss, Stetson, Florida International and Loyola Marymount for the Beach Invitational.

#1 UCLA 4, #9 Long Beach State 1

1. Lexy Denaburg/Maggie Boyd (UCLA) def. Malia Gementera/Taylor Hagenah (LBSU) 21-14, 21-15

2. Peri Brennan/Devon Newberry (UCLA) def. Savannah Standage/Julia Westby (LBSU) 25-23, 21-19

3. Tessa Van Winkle/Jaden Whitmarsh (UCLA) def. Natalie Glenn/Mo Gibson (LBSU) 17-21, 22-20, 15-12

4. Megan Widener/Christine Deroos (LBSU) def. Kenzie Brower/Jessie Smith (UCLA) 21-16, 15-21, 15-11

5. Natalie Myszkowski/Ensley Alden (UCLA) def. Haley Carrington/Olivia Narancich (LBSU) 21-13, 21-19

Exh. Kate Stoughton/Emily Sparks (LBSU) vs. Ky Vaickus/Sophie Moore (UCLA) 13-21, 26-24

Order of finish: 2, 4, 5*, 1, 3

#9 Long Beach State 3, #13 Washington 2