#1 UCLA, #17 Stetson, #19 Tulane Pick Up Beach Sweeps Wednesday

No. 1 UCLA faced nearby foes No. 4 USC and No. 6 Long Beach State Wednesday afternoon, winning 3-2 and 5-0.

In the day’s first action, the Bruins (26-3) bested the 49ers with four straight-set wins and a three-set affair on Court 2. A straight set win on Court 1 by Megan and Nicole McNamara sealed the victory, but the most exciting match followed. Lily Justine and Sarah Sponcil moved past Anete Brinke/Sasha Karelov 25-23 in the first, thwarting three set-point chances, before going on to the win the match 25-23, 19-21, 15-12.

In the first-ever meeting between UCLA and USC on the Bruins’ home court, the home side kicked off the match with wins on Courts 4 and 5. Justine and Sponcil clinched the victory, but a pair of three-setters on courts 1 and 3 prevented a sweep. Abril Bustamante/Tina Graudina came through for the Trojans on Court 1, besting the McNamaras 16-21, 21-17, 16-14 to snap the duo’s 16-match winning streak. Another streak ended on Court 3 to end the day as USC’s Joy Dennis/Elise Zappia halted Zana Muno/Savvy Simo‘s stretch of 17 wins.

#1 UCLA 5, #6 Long Beach State 0
1) Megan McNamara/Nicole McNamara, UCLA def. Nele Barber/Rachel Nieto, LBSU 21-12, 21-14
2) Lily Justine/Sarah Sponcil, UCLA def. Anete Brinke/Sasha Karelov, LBSU 25-23, 19-21, 15-12
3) Savvy Simo/Zana Muno def. Megan Kruidhof/Zoi Konstantopoulou, LBSU 21-14, 22-20
4) Mac May/Elise Zappia, UCLA def. Kristyna Adamcikova/Nicci Reinking, LBSU 21-16, 21-17
5) Izzy Carey/Megan Muret, UCLA def. Hannah Matt/Marisa Ramsey, LBSU 21-12, 21-15
Order of finish: 5, 4, 1*, 2, 3

No. 1 UCLA def. No. 4 USC, 3-2
1. Abril Bustamante/Tina Graudina (USC) def. Megan McNamara/Nicole McNamara (UCLA); 16-21, 21-17, 16-14
2. Lily Justine/Sarah Sponcil (UCLA) def. Terese Cannon/Sammy Slater (USC); 21-15, 21-17
3. Joy Dennis/Haley Hallgren (USC) def. Zana Muno/Savvy Simo (UCLA); 21-19, 17-21, 15-8
4. Mac May/Elise Zappia (UCLA) def. Katrina Kernochan/Alexandra Poletto (USC); 21-18, 19-21, 16-14
5. Izzy Carey/Megan Muret (UCLA) def. Jenna Belton/Jo Kremer (USC); 21-19, 21-10
Order of finish: 5, 4, 2*, 1, 3

In DeLand, Florida, No. 17 Stetson swept a doubleheader with Florida Gulf Coast 3-2 and 5-0. The Hattters (20-6, 6-0 ASUN) won on Courts 1, 4 and 5 in both matches to stay perfect in Atlantic Sun action and hand FGCU its first league losses. Stetson extended its win streak to 18 matches and has now taken 33 of its last 34 ASUN contests.

Darby Dunn/Sammee Thomas (Court 1), Julia Varga/Lauren Durham (Court 4) and Rebecca Ingram/Quinci Birker (Court 5) paced the team in the victories.

Both Court 2 matches went the distance, with FGCU taking the first as Katherine Puisis/Karissa Rhoades won 21-18, 12-21, 15-13. Stetson’s Sunniva Helland-Hansen/Carly Perales took the upper hand 18-21, 21-14, 15-8 in the night cap.

Stetson 3, FGCU 2
1. Darby Dunn/Sammee Thomas (STET) def. Mackenzie Allen/Amanda Carroll (FGCU) 21-13, 21-14
2. Katherine Puisis/Karissa Rhoades (FGCU) def. Sunniva Helland-Hansen/Carly Perales (STET) 21-18, 12-21, 15-13
3. Giovanna Borgiotti/Ashley Glickert (FGCU) def. Rachel Noble/Samantha Harris (STET) 32-34, 21-19, 15-12
4. Julie Varga/Lauren Durham (STET) def. Kayla Whetstone/Snowy Burnam (FGCU) 21-13, 21-11
5. Rebecca Ingram/Quinci Birker (STET) def. Kaitlan Krivdo/Alayna Ryan (FGCU) 21-11, 21-14
Ext. Alexa Richardson/Katinka Krahn (STET) def. Cortney VanLiew/Kellie Pernula (FGCU) 21-8, 21-16

Stetson 5, FGCU 0
1. Sammee Thomas/Darby Dunn (STET) def. Mackenzie Allen/Amanda Carroll (FGCU) 21-11, 23-21
2. Carly Perales/Sunniva Helland-Hansen (STET) def. Karissa Rhoades/Katherine Puisis (FGCU) 18-21, 21-14, 15-8
3. Samantha Harris/Rachel Noble (STET) def. Ashley Glickert/Giovanna Borgiotti (FGCU) 21-17, 22-20
4. Julie Varga/Lauren Durham (STET) def. Snowy Burnam/Kayla Whetstone (FGCU) 21-18, 22-20
5. Rebecca Ingram/Quinci Birker (STET) def. Kaitlan Krivdo/Cortney VanLiew (FGCU) 17-21, 21-12, 15-9
Ext. Alexa Richardson/Katinka Krahn (STET) def. Alayna Ryan/Kellie Pernula (FGCU) 21-9, 21-9

No. 19 Tulane closed out the day’s Top 20 action with a pair of victories over Louisiana Monroe, 5-0 and 4-1. The Green Wave are now 14-10 on the year, including a 3-5 mark in CCSA play.

Court 3 went the distance in both matches, with Tulane’s Anna Chin/Lauren Orlich rebounding after dropping the opening set 14-21 in match 1, while ULM’s Rebecca Brown/Catherine Griffith did the same in match 2.

“It was terrific [to play at home],” head coach Wayne Holly said. “We’ve been on the road so often and for so long that we forgot the benefits of playing at home, playing on courts familiar to us, playing in the wind that we know and playing in front of a bunch of people that are supporting us. It was such a welcome relief to be home in New Orleans, get two wins in front of our crowd and be able to get to bed early tonight. We wanted to play it to the best of our abilities with the throttle down the whole time, and I thought we did a really good job of doing that.”

#19 Tulane 5, ULM 0
No. 1 – Madeline Mertz/Kaylie McHugh (Tarin Mergener Love/Grace Convey (ULM) 21-13, 21-8
No. 2 – Lan Nguyen/Tarin Mergener (TLN) def. Maile Sellers/Kayla Gallant (ULM) 21-16, 24-22
No. 3 – Anna Chin/Lauren Orlich (TLN) def. Rebecca Brown/Catherine Griffith (ULM) 14-21, 21-17, 15-10
No. 4 – Addison Hermstad/Ashley Delgado (TLN) def. Bailey Smith/Taylor Meyer (ULM) 15-21, 21-16, 15-8
No. 5 – Rio Frohoff/Gabriella Becerra (TLN) def. Holland Ponthieux/Allie Kemp (ULM) 21-16, 21-15
Exh. –  Christina McAfee/Kendyl Brennan (TLN) def. Mckenna Webster/Alix Christie (ULM) 21-10, 21-7
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 4, 1, 2, 3

#19 Tulane 4, ULM 1
No. 1 – Madeline Mertz/Kaylie McHugh (Tarin Mergener Love/Grace Convey (ULM) 21-10, 21-8
No. 2 – Lan Nguyen/Tarin Mergener (TLN) def. Maile Sellers/Kayla Gallant (ULM) 21-13, 21-12
No. 3 – Rebecca Brown/Catherine Griffith (ULM) def. Anna Chin/Lauren Orlich (TLN) 14-21, 21-19, 15-13
No. 4 – Addison Hermstad/Ashley Delgado (TLN) def. Bailey Smith/Taylor Meyer (ULM) 21-18, 21-12
No. 5 – Rio Frohoff/Gabriella Becerra (TLN) def. Holland Ponthieux/Allie Kemp (ULM) 21-15, 21-12
Exh. –  Briana Correa/Kendyl Brennan (TLN) def. Mckenna Webster/Alix Christie (ULM) 21-12, 21-14
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 4, 1, 2, 3