Final road matches relinquished

Tuesday, April 17

Los Angeles, Calif.

3 p.m.

Grand Canyon

USC

Photo by: Tech and Photo

4/17/2018 9:07:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

GCU falls to USC and Long Beach State in Los Angeles

By: Fletcher Like

LOS ANGELES – The final road trip of the season came to a close as the Lopes battled top talent from Southern California. The Lopes (11-16) started the afternoon off with a tough 5-0 loss to No. 6 Long Beach State (23-5) and refocused to give USC (22-10) a run for their money before ultimately falling 3-2 to the No. 4 Trojans.

The Lopes and Trojans were tied at 1-1 after the first round of pairings had concluded. The No. 5 pairing of Jessica Clark and Jamie Walsh were able to down their competition in straight sets to tie the match.

The Trojans won the next two pairings however, clinching the match with a pairing still to go. GCU fought to the end, with the No. 3 pairing of Natalie Honzovicova and Katie Sarber taking down their opponents in two-set fashion.

Long Beach downed the Lopes in the first set of the day, only relinquishing one set to the Lopes, Jessica Clark and Jamie Walsh were able to take the second set in the five-spot to force a third game, but fell 15-11 to the Beach.

The Lopes return home to play Pac-12 opponent, Utah, on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Beach Volleyball Stadium and then will host Senior Day on Saturday with festivities beginning at 9 a.m. against San Diego State's Club team. GCU will play San Diego City College following the SDSU match.

GCU vs. Long Beach State
1. Nele Barber/Sasha Karelov (LBSU) def. Hannah Towne/Molly Turner (GCU); 21-15, 22-20
2. Megan Kruidof/Rachel Nieto (LBSU) def. Bella Bauman/Jessica Stansfield (GCU); 21-12, 21-8
3. Zoi Konstantopoulou/Nicci Reinking (LBSU) def. Katie Pyles/Madi Relaz (GCU); 21-19, 23-21
4. Kristyna Adamcikova/Hailey Harward (LBSU) def. Natalie Honzovicova/Katie Sarber (GCU); 22-20, 21-16
5. Hannah Matt/Marisa Ramsey (LBSU) def. Jessica Clark/Jamie Walsh (GCU); 21-17, 15-21, 15-11

GCU vs. USC
1. Abril Bustamante/Tina Graudina (USC) def. Hannah Towne/Molly Turner (GCU); 21-17, 21-13
2. Terese Cannon/Sammy Slater (USC) def. Bella Bauman/Taylor Jarzombek (GCU); 21-14, 21-8
3. Natalie Honzovicova/Katie Sarber (GCU) def. Joy Dennis/Cammie Dorn (USC); 21-17, 21-16
4. Jenna Belton/Maja Kaiser (USC) def. Katie Pyles/Madi Relaz (GCU); 21-15, 21-19
5. Jessica Clark/Jamie Walsh (GCU) def. Haley Hallgren/Alexandra Poletto (USC); 21-12, 22-20