SANTA MONICA, Calif. – No. 9 LMU captured its fifth consecutive West Coast Conference Beach Volleyball Tournament title with three wins over the two-day event at Ocean Park Beach in Santa Monica, California.
The top-seeded Lions capped their title run with a 3-1 victory over second-seeded Pepperdine in the Championship match to earn the WCC’s automatic berth to next week’s NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship.
The championship match, which was nationally televised on ESPNU, featured LMU and Pepperdine for the fifth consecutive time. The match was played in flights, beginning with the fours and fives. The Lions posted wins on both courts, as the pair of Madi Firnett and Abbey Thorup gave LMU its first point with a straight set (21-17, 21-12) win on court five. Then, Cassie Chinn and Chloe Hooker collected the second point for the Lions with a 21-15, 21-9 victory on court four.
With the first two pairs completed, the ones, twos and threes took the court. All three went to a third set as the WCC’s top two seeds battled back and forth. The Waves secured their first point with a victory on court two, as Madison Oriskovich and Kristine Briede earned a 21-12, 12-21, 15-13 win.
The decisive third point for LMU came on court three. In a closely contested match throughout, Anna Pelloia and Jacinda Ramirez outlasted Pepperdine’s Sarlota Svobodova and Gabriella Perez, 21-16, 19-21, 15-11, to seal the victory. With LMU holding a 14-11 edge in the third set, the Pepperdine serve landed outside the line for the decisive point, as the team rushed the court to celebrate the championship.
Both teams reached the final match with wins earlier in the day. Day two of the tournament began with third-seeded Saint Mary’s earning a 3-2 victory over fourth-seeded Santa Clara. LMU and Pepperdine then faced off, with the Lions advancing to the tournament’s championship match with a 4-1 victory. The Waves eliminated Saint Mary’s with a 5-0 victory to advance to the title match.
The NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship selection show is this Sunday, April 28, at 8 a.m. PT on NCAA.com. The NCAA Championship begins this coming Wednesday, May 3, in Gulf Shores, Alabama.