Beach volleyball squad chasing a conference championship and NCAA tournament berth
Pepperdine beach volleyball players Kate Clermont and McKenna Thomas won the first set of their matchup against the South Florida Bulls’ Samantha Crosby and Aleksandra Stadnik by 10 points on March 23 at Pepperdine’s beach volleyball courts. The Waves duo then lost the second set 21-19.
The third and final set was a back-and-forth contest knotted at 10-10 when the Bulls took a two-point lead. A smack of the volleyball by Thomas, a 5-foot-10 senior, brought the Waves within a point moments before a Bull slightly tapped the ball over the net and into the sand to take a 14-12 advantage.
Thomas then struck the ball so hard and it rocketed in the direction of Bulls player, who put her hands up quickly in a defensive position. The ball bounced off her forearms and into the sand. However, South Florida was awarded the winning point to close the duel with a 15-13 set win when the Waves served the ball into the net.
The loss gave Thomas and Clermont, the Waves No. 1 position duo, a 2-2 record at the end of the two-day Asics Classic, hosted by Pepperdine. With the two victories, the pair continued their ascent into the top 10 on the Waves individual career list with 75 wins. Pepperdine went 3-1 in the Classic and improved its record to 8-7 heading into the two-day West Coast Conference Midseason Challenge in Santa Cruz.
Clermont, a 6-foot-2 senior, and Thomas were named the WCC Pair of the Week on March 17 due to their 3-0 record in the March 14-15 Malibu Invite.
Clermont said she and Thomas are both composed on the court and have good rhythm heading into this weekend’s conference matches.
“We communicate so well,” she said. “It’s good to get the award and have our hard work pay off but we have a lot more work to do.”
Thomas said she and Clermont know how to support each other through highs and lows during competition.
“Whether that is cheering or talking on the side, we do a good job of balancing each other out and supporting one another,” she said. “Our experience together has helped us stay together when things get tense.”
Clermont said the duo’s chemistry really showed during the Feb. 28 to March 1 Battle 4 L.A. tournament, in which they recorded a tough three-set victory over a Concordia duo before also beating a pair from CSUN in three sets.
“We’ve been challenged with a lot of third sets this season, but we have capitalized on that,” Clermont explained. “We push to the end now. We root for each other.”
Pepperdine head coach Maricio Sicoli said Clermont and Thomas, who are in their third season as a duo, have a great connection.
“That chemistry on the court is important,” he said. “They standout because of that chemistry and all their years of training. They are tops in the country.”
Clermont and Thomas began the Asics on March 22 with a two-set victory over South Florida’s Stadnik and Crosby and a loss to a duo from Concordia. Thomas and Clermont defeated a twosome from Vanguard hours before they fell to South Florida.
Pepperdine defeated South Florida 3-2 and lost to Concordia 4-1 the first day of the Classic. The Waves downed Vanguard 5-0 before beating South Florida 3-2 again the next day.
Waves duo Emi Erickson, a junior, and Deanie Woodruff, a redshirt freshman, lost their first set against Alyx Zapatka and Cornelia Crudu in Pepperdine’s match against South Florida on the last day of the Classic. They then won the second set and the third set. Erickson and Woodruff’s 20-22, 21-14, 15-10 win was the Waves’ first win.
Senior Madison Oriskovich and junior Gabriella Perez also lost their first set but eventually beat Isabella Almeida and Audrey Gauthier (USF) 16-21, 21-19, 15-7 to give the Waves a 2-0 lead.
Freshman Emma Eden and graduate student Ella Foti clinched the duel for Pepperdine with their 21-19, 21-12 defeat of Mia Scheepens and Morgan Anderson.
Waves Emma Bubelis, a redshirt junior, and graduate student Marley Johnson were beaten 12-21, 21-18, 19-17 by Ryann Genest and Sasha Pasloski before Clermont and Thomas were also downed.
Sicoli described the Waves’ play as a roller coaster in clutch moments.
“We saw kids rising up to the occasion and kids showing up, but then a couple hours later it would be the opposite,” he said. “So it was a great learning experience. I want them to believe in each other and be locked in and playing for each other. Hopefully after this weekend, they understand connection with their partner is the most important thing in the game of beach volleyball.”
Pepperdine’s offense, Sicoli said, improved throughout the four games.
“I’m seeing the wheels turning on how to deal with and fix problems on offense,” he explained. “That is what we worked on this week in practice.”
Sicoli, a native of Brazil, coached Canadian beach volleyball players Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes to a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The coach noted that last July’s Summer Games seem like a long time ago but he has shared his Olympic experiences with the Waves.
“The players I have been coaching in the Olympics, they started like this,” said Sicoli, who coached Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor to a gold medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal four years later and noted the Olympic tales can be inspiring. “They were able to do it, these girls can do it. They just have to put in the time.”
The Waves compete in the April 4-5 Big 12 Invitational in Tucson, Arizona, after the WCC Midseason Challenge. The team will host the April 11-12 Waves Tourney and the April 18-19 Pepperdine Dual before the WCC Championships, April 24-25.
Thomas said the Waves are chasing a WCC championship and a NCAA tournament berth.
“We want to compete with the best effort we can,” she said. “Since Kate and I are seniors we are trying to enjoy the moment and compete for one another.”
