SANTA MONICA, Calif. – The Pacific women's beach volleyball team made program history Friday when they went 2-1 to become one of four teams to advance to day two of the West Coast Conference Championship. 

The tournament's top four seeds remain in contention for the 2018 Conference title. No. 1 Pepperdine will face No. 3 Saint Mary's at 9:00 a.m. to open the final day of competition. The No. 4 Tigers will take on No. 2 Loyolar Marymount at 10:30 a.m.

The Tigers (10-12) opened the day with a 4-1 victory over San Francisco. They then dropped their second match against No. 2 nationally-ranked Pepperdine (4-0) before downing Portland for their second victory on the day. 

"I am very proud of these girls. They have worked hard all season and have put us in a position to compete as one of the top four teams in our conference," said head coach Greg Gibbons.

Friday's match against the Dons marked the program's third victory against the bay area squad. Pacific's No. 2 flight Roni Long/Hanne De Schrijver, No. 3 flight Katrin Gotterba/Alex Holt, and No. 5 flight Ashlyn Fleming/Taylor Poncetta each snagged sweeping victories in their respective matches. After the No. 4 flight Emily Baptista/Maycie LaBass took the first set, 21-19, USF's Sabrina Blackwell and Nora Buvarp Lavik forced a third set after snagging a narrow 18-21 win in set two. Baptista/LaBass pulled out the victory with a 15-10 decision to claim the match.

Despite the loss in their match, the Tigers No. 1 pair Andie Shelton/Skylar Wine fought a hard battle, taking the first set 22-20. Then after dropping the second set by four points (17-21), San Francisco's Julia Topor/Anna Dalla Vecchia snagged the victory in extra points, 19-17.

Pacific was over-matched in its second match of the day, with each of the Tigers' five pairs falling in straight sets to the top-seeded waves.

Sixth-seeded Portland edged seventh-seeded Santa Clara, 3-2 to earn the chance to take on the Tigers in eighth and final match of the day. UOP earned the victory easily with No. 2 Long/De Schrijver (21-10, 21-16), No. 3 Gotterba/Holt (21-4, 21-13), No. 4 Baptista/LaBass (22-10, 21-10), and No. 5 Fleming/Poncetta (21-17, 21-8) swept their respective opponents. 

"Now I just need to get our players fed, rested, and ready for another great day tomorrow. Go Tigers!"

Tournament information and live scoring links can be found by visiting wccsports.com/championships.

 

PACIFIC 4, SAN FRANCISCO 0
1. Julia Topor/Anna Dalla Vecchia (USF) def. Andie Shelton/Skylar Wine (PAC) - 22-20; 17-21; 17-19 (5)
2. Roni Long/Hanne De Schrijver (PAC) def. Haley Howell/Carly Lowry (USF) - 21-13; 21-10 (2)
3. Katrin Gotterba/Alex Holt (PAC) def. Camille Araujo/Erica Ronda (USF) - 21-16; 21-15 (3)
4. Emily Baptista/Maycie LaBass (PAC) def. Sabrina Blackwell/Nora Buvarp Lavik (USF) - 21-19; 18-21; 15-10 (4)
5. Ashlyn Fleming/Taylor Poncetta (PAC) def. Shannon Levinson/Pi'ikea Clemens (USF) - 21-14; 21-7 (1)

PEPPERDINE 5, PACIFIC 0
1. Deahna Kraft/Corinne Quiggle (PEP) def. Andie Shelton/Skylar Wine (PAC) - 21-11; 21-11 (2)
2. Madalyn Roh/Brook Bauer (PEP) def. Roni Long/Hanne De Schrijver (PAC) -  21-9; 21-6 (4)
3. Gigi Hernandez/Heidi Dyer (PEP) def. Katrin Gotterba/Alex Holt (PAC) - 21-6; 21-14 (5)
4. Skylar Caputo/Alexis Filippone (PEP) def. Emily Baptista/Maycie LaBass (PAC) -  21-3; 21-8 (1)
5. Maddie Dilfer/Nikki Lyons (PEP) def. Ashlyn Fleming/Taylor Poncetta (PAC) - 21-13; 21-9 (3)

PACIFIC 4, PORTLAND 1
1. Tani Stephens/Cali Thompson (POR) def. Andie Shelton/Skylar Wine (PAC) - 16-21; 19-21 (4)
2. Roni Long/Hanne De Schrijver (PAC) def.  Katie Barker/Morgan Robinson (POR) - 21-10; 21-16 (2)
3. Katrin Gotterba/Alex Holt (PAC) def. Carey Williams/Sarah Savoca (POR) - 21-4; 21-13 (1)
4. Emily Baptista/Maycie LaBass (PAC) def. Lauren Naatz/Kassidy Naone (POR) - 22-10; 21-10 (3)
5. Ashlyn Fleming/Taylor Poncetta (PAC) def. Elizabeth Reich/McKenzie Schwan (POR)  - 21-17; 21-8 (5)