Waves Rally Falls Short
10/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 9, 2004
Final Stats
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Trailing 19-8 in game four and 2-1 in the match, Pepperdine mounted a furious comeback to pull within two at 26-24 but the comeback attempt would end there as the Waves dropped back-to-back conference matches for the first time since the 1996 season, 3-1.
After falling behind early in game three, Pepperdine refused to quit and used an 8-4 run to take its first lead of the night and force a Lions' timeout with an 11-7 lead. The Waves continued to pour it on following the timeout and lead by eight, 17-9, when LMU Head Coach Steve Stratos called his second timeout of the game.
The Waves would finally see their run end at 9-0 with a commanding 22-10 lead. But Pepperdine has struggled to finish teams this season and tonight was no different. Loyola Marymount would cut the lead to single-digits at 26-17 when the Waves called for a timeout. Out of the break, Pepperdine would trade points with LMU and send the match to a fourth game, 30-20.
The Waves (3-9, 1-2 WCC) got double-digit kill performances from Katy Daly (15) and Lecca Roberts (14). Melissa Mehlhorn logged her team-leading eighth double-double of the season with 43 assists and 14 digs, while Christina Hinds notched a match-high 21 digs and Kristen Shultz tacked on 13.
The Lions were paced by the play of the setter, Nicole Oehlman who logged the first triple-double of her career with 10 kills, 39 assists and 12 digs. Kelli Nerison led all players with 19 kills and Heather Hughes chipped in with 10.
Pepperdine started slowly in the first game offensively but managed to stay close with LMU, forcing ties at 11- and 12-all. The Lions would break the final tie with a 4-1 run which forced Head Coach Nina Matthies to call a timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Waves closed the deficit to two, 17-15. But the Lions would hit at a .480 clip for the game to Pepperdine's .088 and cruise to the 30-20 game-one victory. In the game, the Waves would commit four service errors, while LMU would commit just two attack errors.
Game two of the match was a tightly contested one from the start. LMU built up its biggest lead of the game at 21-18 when Matthies called for a timeout. The Waves responded and narrowed the gap to one at 23-22.
The following point was a hard-fought one as setter Melissa Mehlhorn made three clutch digs. But following the third dig Kristin McClune was called for a double-hit giving the pivotal point to the Lions. Pepperdine's second timeout of the game followed a 4-2 Lion's run.
The Waves would respond to the challenge and close the gap to 28-27 on Shultz's sixth kill of the night. But that would be as close as Pepperdine would get as LMU headed into the locker room with a 2-0 advantage. The loss came despite the Wave's outhitting the Lions .316-.270.
Training by 11 in the fourth game Pepperdine mounted a 10-2 run and was within two on two different occasions the last coming at 27-25. Playing in front of the largest crowd to witness a volleyball match at Gersten Pavillion since 1996 (1,142) the Lions were able to hang on for its first win over the Waves since 2000.
Pepperdine will return to Firestone Fieldhouse next weekend for the first time since September 5 when it hosts Gonzaga and Portland in West Coast Conference action. Both Friday and Saturday's matches are scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. (PDT) first-serve.
