MALIBU, Calif. – HCU beach faced a pair of top-20 opponents on a chilly day at Zuma Beach on the California coast, taking a match off eighth-ranked Loyola Marymount but falling 4-1 and losing 5-0 to host Pepperdine, the No. 18 team in the nation.
HCU (2-4) opened against the Lions (3-0) with the Huskies' No. 3 pair of
Abbey Bufkin and
Abbey Reinard winning their match in a thrilling three sets, earning a 21-18, 8-21, 17-15 victory. HCU's No. 1 pair,
Maddie Butters and
Alison Stanfill, nearly went to a third set but came up just short, 21-16, 26-24.
Facing the Waves (2-0), three of the matches went to three sets.
Lindsay Harris and
Kristen Kleymeyer, HCU's No. 2 pair, lost a heartbreaker, 14-21, 21-14, 18-16. At the fives,
Mary Alper and
Kylann Griffith forced three sets before falling 21-14, 15-21, 15-13, while Butters and Stanfill were defeated at the ones, 21-17, 17-21, 17-15.
The Huskies remain in the Los Angeles area on Sunday, Mar. 5, heading to Northridge, Calif. for duals against CSU Northridge at 11:00 a.m. CT and Boise State at 1:00 p.m. CT.
