Santa Monica, California โ No. 9 LMU won its fifth straight West Coast Conference Beach Volleyball Tournament title with three wins in the two-day event at Ocean Park Beach in Santa Monica, California.
The top-seeded Lions defeated second-seeded Pepperdine 3-1 in the championship match, clinching the title race and earning an automatic WCC berth to next week's NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship.
The championship match, which was broadcast nationally on ESPNU, featured LMU and Pepperdine for the fifth time in a row. The match started with a four-and-five and was played on a flight. The Lions won on both courts, with Maddie Farnett and Abby Thorpe winning in straight sets (21-17, 21-12) on court five, giving LMU its first points. The Lions then got their second point as Kathy Chin and Chloe Hooker won 21-15, 21-9 on court four.
Once the first two pairs were completed, 1, 2, and 3 appeared on the court. The WCC's top two seeds battled back and forth, with all three taking it to the third set. The Waves earned their first points on Court 2 with a 21-12, 12-21, 15-13 win by Madison Oriskovic and Christine Breede.
LMU's decisive third goal came on court 3. In a close match from beginning to end, Anna Peroia and Jacinda Ramirez defeated Pepperdine's Sarlota Svobodova and Gabriela Perez 21-16, 19-21, 15-11 to clinch the victory. LMU led 14-11 in the third set, and as the team rushed onto the court to celebrate the win, Pepperdine's serve fell off the line for the decisive point.
Both teams advanced to the finals with wins earlier in the day. Day two of the tournament began with third-seeded St. Mary's defeating fourth-seeded Santa Clara, 3-2. LMU and Pepperdine then faced off, with the Lions advancing to the tournament's championship game with a 4-1 victory. The Waves defeated St. Mary's 5-0 to advance to the title match.
The NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship Selection Show will be held this Sunday, April 28th at 8am PT on NCAA.com. The NCAA Championships begin this Wednesday, May 3, in Gulf Shores, Alabama.