Pepperdine Box Score | Hawaii Box Score
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – The No. 5 Florida State beach volleyball team split the first day of the East Meets West Challenge, falling to No. 1 Pepperdine and taking down No. 3 Hawaii at the Manhattan Beach Pier on Saturday (March 10).
The loss to Pepperdine snapped the team’s eight-match win streak, but FSU’s 4-1 win over Hawaii helped the team improve to a 9-1 season record. The Seminoles still have not given up more than one point in any win so far this season.
While a tried and true lineup helped the Seminoles compete with the top-ranked Waves, a shakeup in the pairings proved to be effective in the team’s win over Hawaii. Sophomore Molly McBain and freshman Madison Fitzpatrick remain the team’s only undefeated pairing with a 6-0 record at the No. 5 position.
The East Meets West Challenge continues tomorrow in Manhattan Beach, where the Seminoles will face No. 4 UCLA and No. 2 USC. FSU has a combined 9-9 record against the two teams.
Order of finish: 2, 5, 4, 1*, 5
The Seminoles employed a familiar lineup against the Waves in the first match of the East Meets West Challenge, but it was no match for Pepperdine as the top-ranked team took the first set on four courts.
As the Waves earned a point with a win at No. 2, Molly McBain and Madison Fitzpatrick kept up their untarnished record with a win at No. 5 to tie up the team score. While the two teams saw a number of highly contested sets at a number of different positions, the Waves were able to push through it and hand FSU its first loss of the season.
Order of finish: 2, 5, 3, 1*, 4
A new lineup for the Seminoles helped them start off on top in their second match of the day, taking all but one of the first sets. While the Rainbow Wahine came up with a quick win at the No. 2 position for a 1-0 lead, the Seminoles took the lead back with a pair of wins from McBain/Fitzpatrick and Kuhlman/Goncalves.
It was the top-seeded Paranagua/Jerger that clinched the match for the Seminoles for the second time this season, and Luke/Horton finished it off with the fourth team point for FSU at the No. 4 position.
12:30 ET (9:30 a.m. PST) – No. 1 Pepperdine def. No. 5 Florida State, 4-1
4:30 ET (1:30 PST) – No. 5 Florida State def. No. 3 Hawaii, 4-1
2:00 ET (11 a.m. PST) – No. 5 Florida State vs. No. 4 UCLA
7:00 ET (4:00 PST) – No. 5 Florida State vs. No. 2 USC
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