TUCSON – The Missouri State beach volleyball team completed the first day of play at the Arizona Invitational as they defeated Colorado Mesa (4-1) before falling to Pepperdine (5-0).  
  
"We had a strong team performance to kick off the weekend grabbing a win over Colorado-Mesa," head coach Russ Friedland said. "All of the duals were close and I was happy we were able to finish strong in the third sets. Grace (Cook) and Chloe (Tome) have been steady all year and their win at the No. 2 position helped set the tone for the win." 
  
In the morning dual against Colorado-Mesa, Missouri State got on the board early with a win in the No. 2 match as Chloe Tome and Grace Cook swept the Mavericks Macie Lachemann and Savannah Spitzer (21-12, 21-16). 
  
In the No. 5 match, the Mavericks tied things up when Ara Norwood and Tye Wedhorn defeated Brooke Plessner and Gala Galabova in three (21-11, 19-21, 15-11). MSU answered as Chloe Filipski and Tylar Garrett defeated the Colorado-Mesa duo of Maddi Foutz and Holly Schmidt in the No. 1 match, 21-18, 17-21, 17-15. The Bears clinched the dual in the No. 3 spot as Parker McAllen and Kylee Davis won a three-set thriller over the Maverick's Hahni Johnson and Sierra Hunt, 21-18, 14-21, 15-13. 
  
Missouri State completed its morning in the No. 4 position as Tory Penick and Pamela Jaime squeaked out a three-set win over Ashton Reese and Sabrina VanDeList of CU Mesa (21-15, 19-21, 15-12).  
  
In the nightcap against No. 8 Pepperdine, the Bears put up a fight, but the Waves proved too much as MSU fell 5-0. Penick and Jaime gave Pepperdine their closest match in the No. 4 position, 16-21, 16-21. 
  
"Pepperdine is a really strong team, top to bottom," Friedland added. "The scores may not show it, but we held our own against a top-10 team. We will regroup and be ready for more competition to close out the weekend tomorrow morning." 
  
The Bears are now 7-4 on the season and will finish up the Arizona Invitational tomorrow when they take on No. 13 Arizona at 10 a.m. and UC Davis at noon.  
 
Results 
MSU 4, Colorado Mesa 1 
No. 1 Tylar Garrett / Chloe Filipski (MSU) def. Madi Fouts / Holly Schmidt (CMU) 21-18, 17-21, 17-15
No. 2 Chloe Tome / Grace Cook (MSU) def. Macie Lachemann / Savannah Spitzer (CMU) 21-14, 22-20
No. 3 Parker McAllen / Kylee Davis (MSU) def. Hahni Johnson / Sierra Hunt (CMU) 21-18, 14-21, 15-13
No. 4 Tory Penick / Pamela Jaime (MSU) def. Ashton Reese / Sabrina VanDeList (CMU) 21-15, 19-21, 15-12
No.5 Ara Norwood / Tye Wedhorn (CMU) def. Brooke Plessner / Gala Galabova (MSU) 21-11, 19-21, 15-11 
Order of Finish 
2, 5, 1, 3*, 4 
*Clinched Match Point 
Pepperdine 5, MSU 0 
1. Bauer, Brook/Filippone, Alexis (PEP) def. Tylar Garrett/Chloe Filipski (MSU) 21-10, 21-7
2. Paul, Melanie/Priebe, Simone (PEP) def. Chloe Tome/Grace Cook (MSU) 21-13, 21-13
3. Sinclair, Mary/Mactavish, Sutton (PEP) def. Kylee Davis/Parker McAllen (MSU) 21-17, 21-14
4. Lewis, Peyton/Pedersen, Gracie (PEP) def. Tory Penick/Pamela Jaime (MSU) 21-16, 21-16
5. Gavin, Katie/Wright, Calista (PEP) def. Brooke Plessner/Gala Galabova (MSU) 21-12, 21-17  
Order of Finish 
2, 5, 1, 3*, 4 
*Clinched Match Point 
 
  
  
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