Pepperdine Goes 15-0 to Win 3rd-Straight WCC Beach Volleyball Title

The Pepperdine Waves won their third-straight WCC beach volleyball conference title on Saturday, as the #2 team in the country remains the only team to ever win the WCC title. The Waves rolled through the weekend without dropping a single of their 15 matchups, and losing only two sets (once at the #4 line and once at the #5 line) the whole weekend.

With the win, they’ve all-but-guaranteed themselves a spot in the NCAA Championship tournament, with a #2 seed likely barring UCLA losing early in next weeken’d Pac-12 tournament.

Semi-Finals

Dual 26 | #2 PEPPERDINE 5, SAINT MARY’S 0
OCEAN PARK BEACH | SANTA MONICA, CALIF. | APRIL 21, 2018

1. Deahna Kraft/Corinne Quiggle (PEPP) def. Andie Skelton/Skylar Wine (UOP) – 21-11, 21-11
2. Brook Bauer/Madalyn Roh (PEPP) def. Roni Long/Hanne De Schrijver (UOP) – 21-9, 21-6
3. Heidi Dyer/Gigi Hernandez (PEPP) def. Katrin Gotterba/Alex Holt (UOP) – 21-6, 21-14
4. Skylar Caputo/Alexis Filippone (PEPP) def. Emily Baptista/Maycie LaBass (UOP) – 21-3, 21-8
5. Maddie Dilfer/Nikki Lyons (PEPP) def. Ashlyn Fleming/Taylor Poncetta (UOP) – 21-13, 21-9

Order of finish: 4, 2, 5*, 2, 3

Pepperdine rolled through the semi-finals without dropping a set; that includes Deahna Kraft and Corinne Quiggle beating Saint Mary’s #1 line 21-16, 21-18. Kraft and Quiggle have cemented their spot at the top line for Pepperdine late in the season, and emerged from the weekend with an 11-4 record at that spot overall. Pepperdine’s top-two lines are about even, and Roh/Bauer, the former #1s, are now 14-1 at the 2 line (they’ve dropped only 2 sets there this year).

Saint Mary’s then fought their way back through the losers’ bracket, beating Loyola Marymount 3-2.

#19/20 Saint Mary’s 3, #17/15 Loyola Marymount 2
Ocean Park Beach — Santa Monica, Calif. | April 21, 2018

1. McKayla Ferris/Savannah Slattery (LMU) def. Hughes/Rund (SMC), 21-16, 13-21, 15-8
2. Bible/L.Knudsen (SMC) def. Sara Kovac/Jessie Prichard (LMU), 21-11, 22-24, 15-6
3. Emma Doud/Veronica Nederend (LMU) def. Chase/Hernandez (SMC), 21-15, 19-21, 15-10
4. Calvin/K. Knudsen (SMC) def. Bozena Culo/Maddie Leiphardt (LMU), 21-15, 21-18
5. Wilkerson/Young (SMC) def. Kristen Castellanos/Cierra Simpson (LMU), 7-21 21-19, 15-10

After falling to Pepperdine, 3rd-seeded Saint Mary’s beat 2nd-seeded Loyola Marymount to earn the right to play Pepperdine again in the finals. After losing both matchups during the season 2-3, Saint Mary’s beat them twice by the opposite score (3-2) this weekend to earn a second appearance in the championship match in three seasons.

“We are so proud of the team,” said Saint Mary’s head coach Rob Browning. “They competed well all weekend and had two huge wins over LMU. They fought their way to the final and gave Pepperdine everything they could handle. It was a fantastic weekend for them. Each pair had at least one win and we needed all of them. Mary Hernandez and Madi Wilkerson will finish their Saint Mary’s careers on a high note. Each of them, with their partners, picked up big wins for us.”

Dual 27 | #2 PEPPERDINE 5, SAINT MARY’S 0
OCEAN PARK BEACH | SANTA MONICA, CALIF. | APRIL 21, 2018

1. Deahna Kraft/Corinne Quiggle (PEPP) def. Payton Rund/Morgan Hughes (SMC) — 19-21, 21-15, 15-9
2. Brook Bauer/Madalyn Roh (PEPP) def. Lindsey Knudsen/Emily Bible (SMC) — 21-9, 21-17
3. Heidi Dyer/Gigi Hernandez (PEPP) def. Sarah Chase/Mary Hernandez (SMC) — 21-11, 21-14
4. Skylar Caputo/Alexis Filippone (PEPP) def. Lindsey Calvin/Kelsey Knudsen (SMC) — 21-15, 15-21, 17-15
5. Maddie Dilfer/Nikki Lyons (PEPP) def. Madi Wilkerson/Sienna Young (SMC) — 21-15, 22-20

Order of finish: 3, 2, 5*, 4, 1

Skyler Caputo and Alexis Filippone dropped only their 13th set in 27 matches this season, but were able to fight back to beat Lindsey Calvin and Kelsey Knudsen from Saint Mary’s College in an extra-points third-set.

That was the only blemish on Sunday as Pepperdine rolled to another WCC title. The Waves have above .500 set records on every line this season, including better than an 80% set-win rate at both the #2 and #4 lines:

• Line 1 – 42-27 (.609 winning percentage)
• Line 2 – 54-8 (.871 winning percentage)
• Line 3 – 48-18 (.727 winning percentage)
• Line 4 – 54-13 (.806 winning percentage)
• Line 5 – 41-28 (.594 winning percentage)