SANTA MONICA, Calif. – In an action-packed opening day of the West Coast Conference Beach Volleyball Tournament at Ocean Park Beach in Santa Monica on Thursday, the top five seeds advanced through the seven-team bracket and will compete for a conference title on Friday.
 
The final five duals of the tournament will be played Friday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. and carried live on ESPN+.
 
Top-seeded and seventh-ranked LMU defeated fourth-seeded Santa Clara, 4-1, in its loan dual of the afternoon. Second-seeded Pepperdine had a pair of impressive performances with a 5-0 win over Pepperdine and a 4-1 victory over Saint Mary’s to advance to Friday’s competition.
 
Fourth-seeded Santa Clara and fifth-seeded San Francisco opened the tournament Thursday morning, as the Broncos got wins on court one, court five and court two to seal the victory. Third-seeded Saint Mary’s followed with a 5-0 win over Pacific in straight sets.
 
Sixth-seeded Pacific and seventh-seeded Portland faced off in the first elimination dual of the day. The Tigers and Pilots traded points early on with Portland winning in straight sets on court two and Pacific winning in straight sets on court three. The Pilots emerged victorious in the dual, capturing the next two points in tough battles on court five (21-17, 21-17) and then court four (21-17, 21-19). The two courts ended within a minute of each other to clinch it for the Pilots. Portland finished with a 4-1 dual win to eliminate Pacific and move on to play in the final competition of the day.
 
The Pilots faced San Francisco in the other elimination dual. The Dons took courts two, three and four in straight sets to clinch the win. USF and Portland battled to three sets on courts one and two with the Dons capturing the 5-0 dual win to advance to Friday.  
 
Santa Clara and San Francisco will open competition on Friday at 8:30 a.m., as they will meet for the second time in the tournament. LMU and Pepperdine will square off at 9:15 a.m. in a matchup of the top two seeds. The winner will advance to the Championship dual at 1:30 p.m. Coverage of Friday’s action will be broadcast live on ESPN+, beginning at 8:15 a.m.
 
For complete results and box scores of every dual, check out the West Coast Conference Beach Volleyball Tournament Central page here.