MALIBU, Calif. - The Concordia University Irvine beach volleyball team traveled up to Malibu, Calif. to take on Pepperdine Waves Sunday afternoon. According to AVCA rankings, Pepperdine is ranked No. 8 in the nation and would be the Eagles third match up against a ranked opponent in NCAA Division I while also ranked in the top ten. Even though the Eagles dropped the match 0-5, this only made them stronger as they will meet up with the Waves again later in the season.
 

The green and gold started the match off with a lot of energy and battled with the Waves. Standout performances by duo Nickie Hughes and Sara Ostojic who battled Calista Wright and Mary Sinclair to the third set. The Eagles have proven all year that they are able to hang around with these teams and Sunday was no different. 

"If you want to be the best you need to play the best," said head coach Jenny Griffith. "As we continue to mature as a team we need to be able to grow from this loss. The positive take away was that we have been working on defense and that has clearly improved, but we had a tough time siding out when we needed to and making adjustments to our game strategy on the fly. Congratulations to Pepperdine on the win and their new first class facilities, it was a beautiful place to play."

Senior Hughes summed up the match saying, "It was a satisfying experience to be able to see Sara and I's hard work challenge Pepperdine and take them to three! We look forward to the rematch on Saturday!"

The sandy birds next match up is on Tuesday, Mar. 23 as they welcome in Colorado Mesa and No. 18 Long Beach State.
 

For the Full CUI Beach Volleyball Schedule CLICK HERE.
 

No. 8 Pepperdine 5, CUI 0

1. Carly Skjodt/Brook Bauer (PEPP) def. Ellie Cary/Vanessa Bernzen (CUI) – 21-12, 21-17

2. Simone Priebe/Melanie Paul (PEPP) def. Hailee Ryan/Avery Keathley (CUI) – 21-16, 21-8

3. Alexis Filippone/Sutton Mactavish (PEPP) def. Mia Corippo/Alexis Dirige (CUI) – 21-11, 21-5

4. Calista Wright /Mary Sinclair (PEPP) def. Sara Ostojic/Nickie Hughes (CUI) – 21-18, 22-24, 15-8

5. Michaela Kasper/Katie Gavin (PEPP) def. Shannon Evans/Alex Omaszta (CUI) – 21-10, 21-18

Exh: Gracie Pedersen/Peyton Lewis (PEPP) def. Kya Bock/Marina Pilkington (CUI) – 21-14, 21-11
 

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