SANTA MONICA, Calif. – The top four seeds advanced through following the conclusion of an action-packed first day of the 2023 West Coast Conference Beach Volleyball Tournament Thursday at Ocean Park Beach in Santa Monica, California.
 
Fourth-seeded Santa Clara and fifth-seeded Portland opened the tournament, with the Broncos registering a 5-0 victory to advance to play top-seeded and fifth-ranked LMU.
 
The Lions posted a 5-0 victory over the Broncos, taking the first two sets on four of the five courts. LMU and Santa Clara battled through three hard-fought sets on court one, with LMU’s Melanie Paul and Valma Prihti outlasting Santa Clara’s Nicole Robison and Julia Sangiacomo, 21-16, 18-21, 15-11.
 
Third-seeded Saint Mary’s downed sixth-seeded San Francisco, 5-0, and second-seeded and 19th-ranked Pepperdine earned a 5-0 win over seventh-seeded Pacific to setup an afternoon matchup between the Waves and Gaels. SMC earned a 3-2 victory over Pepperdine in their previous matchup, at the West Coast Challenge in Santa Cruz last month. The Waves came out on top, 5-0, on Thursday, with Pepperdine earning two-set wins on four of five courts.
 
LMU and Pepperdine will now face off in a matchup of the top-two seeds on Friday at 10:30 a.m. PT, with the winner of the match moving on to the championship match Friday at 1:30 p.m. PT. LMU has edged Pepperdine, 3-2, in two previous meetings between the Lions and Waves this season.
 
The Dons rebounded from the loss to Saint Mary’s in the morning with a 5-0 win over Pacific. USF then upended Portland, 5-0, to move on to face Santa Clara in its third consecutive match and fourth overall of the day. San Francisco could not hold off the Broncos, as Santa Clara advanced with a 5-0 victory to close out the day of competition on Thursday.
 
Friday’s action begins at 9 a.m. PT, with Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara squaring off, followed by the LMU-Pepperdine matchup at 10:30 a.m. PT. The winner of the matchup between the Lions and Waves will advance to the championship match at 1:30 p.m. PT, with the other team moving on to the noon match to face the winner of the match between the Gaels and the Broncos. The WCC Tournament championship match will be at 1:30 p.m. PT.
 
Friday’s action will be televised live on the WCC Network, with J.B. Long and Camryn Irwin on the call. There is also live scoring for every match of the tournament available on WCCsports.com.