UCLA
Loyola Marymount
No. 9 UCLA Upsets No. 6 Loyola Marymount, 4-1
March 11, 2015 | Beach Volleyball
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PLAYA DEL REY, Calif. - The ninth-ranked Bruins improved to 2-0 on the year with a 4-1 upset win at No. 6 Loyola Marymount (0-3) at Dockweiler Beach on Wednesday morning.
"We have added a lot of sand only players to the roster and it has gone a long way to executing plays and winning," UCLA Head Coach Stein Metzger said. "We are smaller, but we know the game well and so far, it has been a positive for us, even though we are a very young team."
"Everybody on the team really wanted this win," Metzger added. "This was a good litmus test as to where we are. Our preseason was really long with a lot of practices. The fact that we consistently beat them across the board is a positive sign that we are headed in the right direction."
The UCLA No.1 doubles pair of Kamila Tan and Ivey Schmitt was the only casualty of the day, falling to the LMU tandem of Betsi Metter and Sarah Sponcil, 22-20, 16-21, 9-15. The Bruin pair is now 0-2 on the year.
"LMU's top team is beating everyone so I'm very pleased with our effort today," Metzger added. "We played great in game one and got the win. But they beat us in game two and in game three we were wiped out. We made huge strides today in the top spot, it just didn't translate into a win."
At #2 doubles, the Bruins' Elise Zappia and Madie Smith defeated LMU's Taylor Akana and Litara Keil in straight sets, 23-21, 22-20. The Bruin duo improves to 2-0 on the season.
Julie Consani and Laurel Weaver won a tightly contested match, 21-18, 19-21, 15-12 at No. 3 doubles over LMU's Anne Marie Taylor and Avery Bush. The Bruin tandem is now 2-0 in 2015.
At #4 doubles, Karly Drolson and Rachel Inouye posted a straight-set victory (21-15, 21-19) over the Lions' team of Hannah Tedrow and Rachelle Suaava. The Bruin pair is now 2-0 on the year.
At #5 doubles, the Bruins saw the return of Zoë Nightingale who missed the season-opener due to injury. She and her partner, Lexi Jasper-Baylin, posted a hard-fought straight-set victory (24-22, 21-17) over LMU's tandem of Kristen Castellanos and Taylor Scioscia. The Bruin tandem is now 1-0 on the year while Jasper-Baylin improves to 2-0 at the No. 5 flight.
In an exhibition match, UCLA's Natalie Miller and Anastasia Kunz rallied for a three-set victory (21-10, 22-20) over LMU's Lindsay Carr and Nicky Kevorken. The Bruin duo is 2-0 in exhibition play.
"When you play in public courts in SoCal, they tend to be dug out," Metzger said. "It gets low in the middle of the court, so if you don't set well, the net is about a foot higher. So ball control is at a premium. The wind was changing all morning and we had to constantly change our strategy. I thought we handled it very well and did a better job of utilizing the wind to our favor today than LMU did."
The Bruins return to action on Saturday, March 21 when they travel to Waikiki, Hawaii to compete in the Dad” Center Founder's Cup Championships. Play will begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday at Queen's Beach in Waikiki. On Sunday March 22, Championship rounds will begin at 8:30 a.m. and finish at 2:00 p.m.
#9 UCLA 4, #6 LMU 1 - Wednesday, March 11, 2015 - Playa del Rey, Calif.
#1 - Betsi Metter/Sarah Sponcil (LMU) def. Ivey Schmitt/Kamila Tan (UCLA) 20-22, 21-16, 15-9
#2 - Elise Zappia/Madie Smith (UCLA) def. Taylor Akana/Litara Keil (LMU) 23-21, 22-20
#3 - Laurel Weaver/Julie Consani (UCLA) def. Anne Marie Taylor/Avery Bush (LMU) 21-18, 19-21, 15-12
#4 - Karly Drolson/Rachel Inouye (UCLA) def. Hannah Tedrow/Rachelle Suaava (LMU) 21-15, 21-19
#5 - Lexi Jasper-Baylin/Zoë Nightingale (UCLA) def. Kristen Castellanos/Taylor Scioscia (LMU) 24-22, 21-17
Exh. Anastasia Kunz/Natalie Miller (UCLA) def. Lindsay Carr/Nicky Kevorken (LMU) 21-10, 22-20
