Pepperdine Beach Volleyball defeated the University of Texas at El Paso 5-0 at the Pepperdine Beach Volleyball Courts on March 15
The Waves also beat Sacramento State and Morehead State on March 14 with final scores of 5-0 and 3-2 despite cold temperatures and rain.
“I’m proud of them,” Head Coach Marcio Sicoli said. “The coaching staff really challenged them to not be outworked.”
In their final match against the Miners, the Waves started off strong with a 2-0 win from the No. 2 pair senior Madison Oriskovich and junior Gabriella Perez, defeating their opponents 21-11 and 21-16.
“It’s just a lot of communication right now,” Oriskovich said. “I mean, this is our first time playing together this year and we’re both learning new things.”
The No. 4 pair put on a three-set battle with redshirt junior Emma Bubelis and graduate student Marley Johnson. Although they came up short in the second set at 14-21, they were able to pull out the last set 15-6 for a second Waves overall point.
“Everybody came with a smile on their face,” Oriskovich said. “I think that influenced how we played and how we competed.”
Junior Emi Erickson and redshirt freshman Deanie Wooodruff, won in two sets with scores of 21-19 and 21-13. Then, No. 3 freshman Emma Eden and graduate student Ella Foti also swept their match for another 2-0 win.
“I think our team had a really great turnaround for this game,” senior McKenna Thomas said. “Everyone came out, got that sweep before.”
Lastly, No. 1 pair senior Kate Clermont and Thomas put on a show for their teammates who watched on the sidelines. The pair won 2-1 with set scores of 12-21, 22-20, and 15-12.
The pair had a slow start against the Miners with a 6-15 score at the half of the set.
“We came back after our first set and kind of had to wake up a little bit and just know that we play strong,” Thomas said.
To avenge their performance in the first, the Waves started the second set with a steady lead of three points.
Thomas tipped the ball over her opponent’s block for the first tie of the match, 7-7. Her tips over the net would become difficult for the Miners to receive.
Clermont would later have a kill for their first lead after multiple tie ups at 15-14. Both Clermont and Thomas played off each other, using their communication to know where their opponents were defending on the other side.
“I think something we do really well is our communication on our calls,” Thomas said.
To end the second, a Miner service error and a kill from Clermont would bring the 22-20 win home for the Waves.
The third set was dominated by the Waves as they kept their lead for the entire second half of the set. Once again, a tip over a block from Thomas ended the match for the final overall point.
“Next weekend, we’re gonna play very similar teams that are gonna challenge our ability to play consistently and strong,” Thomas said. “A key thing we talked about is not getting out worked.”
The Waves will play at the Pepperdine Beach Volleyball Courts on March 21 against South Florida University.
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Contact Megan Harkey via email: megan.harkey@pepperdine.edu
