Top-ranked UCLA began its beach volleyball season at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic in Honolulu, splitting its opening matches. The Bruins secured a 5-0 win against No. 6 Texas before falling to host team and No. 16 Hawai’i by a score of 3-2.
In their first match, All-Americans Sally Perez and Maggie Boyd earned the team’s first point with a straight-sets victory on court 1 over Brecht Piersma and Katie Hashman. Kaley Mathews and Ensley Alden also won in straight sets on court 3, followed by Ava Williamson and Harper Cooper’s win on court 4. Mallory LaBreche and Adelina Okazaki came back from losing the first set to win their match on court 5, while Alexa Fernandez and Cassie Dodd closed out the sweep with a three-set victory on court 2.
Against Hawai’i later that day, Perez and Boyd again opened with a win on court 1, defeating Sarah Burton and Caprice Lorenzo in two sets. Williamson and Cooper added another point for UCLA with their performance on court 4. However, Hawai’i responded by winning the next three matches. Julia Lawrenz and Izadora Stedile defeated Fernandez and Dodd in straight sets on court 2. On courts 3 and 5, both matches went to three sets; Julia Thelle and Sophie Buschmann beat Mathews/Alden, while Kristen Serrano/Kiera Cornman clinched the overall match for Hawai’i by overcoming Hannah Fleming/Mallory LaBreche.
UCLA will continue play at Queen’s Beach on Friday with scheduled matches against LMU at 1 p.m. PT/11 a.m. HT and Stanford at 4:45 p.m. PT/2:45 p.m. HT.
Breakdown of results:
Against Texas:
– Court 1: Sally Perez/Maggie Boyd (UCLA) def. Brecht Piersma/Katie Hashman (Texas) 21-19, 21-18
– Court 2: Alexa Fernandez/Cassie Dodd (UCLA) def. Anna Pavelkova/Kacka Pavelkova (Texas) 23-21, 19-21, 15-9
– Court 3: Kaley Mathews/Ensley Alden (UCLA) def. Emma Grace Robertson/Savannah Thomas (Texas) 21-18, 21-15
– Court 4: Ava Williamson/Harper Cooper (UCLA) def. Ella Keeven/Lily Davis (Texas) 22-20, 21-13
– Court 5: Mallory LaBreche/Adelina Okazaki (UCLA) def. Macey Butler/Noa Sonnevile (Texas) 16-21, 21-15, 15-9
Against Hawai’i:
– Court 1: Sally Perez/Maggie Boyd (UCLA) def. Sarah Burton/Caprice Lorenzo (Hawai’i) 21–14, 21–8
– Court 2: Julia Lawrenz/Izadora Stedile (Hawai’i) def. Alexa Fernandez/Cassie Dodd (UCLA), 21–10, 21–19
– Court 3: Julia Thelle/Sophie Buschmann (Hawai’i) def Kaley Mathews/Ensley Alden (UCLA), 18–21, 21–17, 15–10
– Court 4: Ava Williamson/Harper Cooper (UCLA) def Emily Heintzelman/Sydney Miller (Hawai’i), 21–16,
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