The Loyola Marymount University women's beach volleyball team overcame frigid, rainy conditions to defeat the University of Texas Longhorns 4-2 in the East Meets West Invitational on Tuesday.
The Lions secured victory by winning four of six doubles matches, with the pairs of Abbey Thorup and Lisa Luini, Isabelle Reffel and Magdalena Rabitsch, Tanon Rosenthal and Guila Poletti, and Jaeya Brach and Ingrid Johnson all claiming wins for LMU.
Despite the challenging weather conditions that included cold temperatures and rain, the Lions demonstrated their adaptability and preparation.
"We feel very confident. We are very excited to hop in the sand and show what we are made of," said Guila Poletti, an LMU graduate student, before the match. "I think we are very adaptable as a team and we've been practicing with this weather for the past week and even more. I think in beach volleyball you have to be aware of it and use it to your advantage."
The match featured competitive play throughout, with both teams battling the elements as much as each other. In the two's division, LMU's Chloe Hooker and Anna Pelloia faced a tough challenge from Texas's Emma Robertson and Katie Hashman.
The contest remained close from the start, with Pelloia displaying both power and finesse in her serves and attacks. However, Robertson and Hashman showed superior chemistry as a tandem and appeared more cohesive throughout the match.
Communication proved crucial for both teams, with Pelloia using hand signals behind her back to coordinate with Hooker, leading to several points. One standout sequence saw Hooker dive to make a defensive play while Pelloia finished the point with a winning shot over the net.
Despite these efforts, Texas ultimately prevailed in the two's division, winning the match 2-1.
"We played two really good hitters. Trying to figure out who we were going to target first," said LMU assistant coach Cesar Benatti. "We had a hard time stopping them. Trying to figure out how to apply the best serving strategy with our defense. They played well."
The one's division featured another closely contested match between LMU's Michelle Shaffer and Vilhelmiina Prihti against Texas's Chloe Charles and Eva Kuivonen.
LMU started strong, with Shaffer and Prihti using clever shot placement to score early points. Shaffer demonstrated particular skill in deception, appearing to look one direction before slicing the ball to another area of the court for points. The Lions also converted defensive plays into offensive opportunities.
However, Charles and Kuivonen showed strong communication and teamwork in the sand. Texas managed to win the first set and staged a dramatic comeback in the second set.
With crowd support and powerful attacks from Charles, the Longhorns overcame an 18-7 deficit to win the second set 23-21, claiming the match 2-0.
Despite losing both the one's and two's divisions, LMU's depth proved decisive. The Lions won the remaining four matches in the three's, four's, five's and six's divisions to secure the overall 4-2 victory.
"We won the matches that we could and we got a good win against a very good team," Benatti said. "We lost on the two's and one's but we won the three's, four's, fives and sixes pretty handily. So, in beach volleyball you want to win three matches so we got it done."
The victory showcased LMU's resilience and preparation for adverse conditions, qualities that served them well in the challenging beach environment. The Lions demonstrated that their week of practice in similar weather conditions paid dividends when it mattered most.
The East Meets West Invitational continues with additional matches scheduled throughout the week, weather permitting.