LOS ANGELES, Calif. ­Â— Junior outside hitter Rachel Lumsden hit .500 with 15 kills to lead the #14/17 Pepperdine women’s volleyball team to a four-set victory over Loyola Marymount in a West Coast Conference match at Gersten Pavilion on Saturday night.
Roughly half the crowd was made up of Pepperdine fans that made the trip from Malibu, and they enjoyed a 25-23, 25-19, 25-27, 25-16 victory. It was the Waves’ 19th win in the last 23 meetings against the Lions, and the fourth straight in the series.
The Waves bounced back from their first loss of the season and improved to 14-1 overall and 2-1 in the WCC. The Lions fell to 10-7, 0-3.
Lumsden (Brea, Calif./Brea Olinda HS) was errorless on 30 swings and also had nine digs. Senior outside hitter Julie Rubenstein (Camarillo, Calif./Oaks Christian HS) had 17 kills and 12 digs, freshman outside hitter Lilla Frederick (Huntington Beach, Calif./Cornelia Connelly HS) had 11 kills and 14 digs and freshman middle blocker Kim Hill (Portland, Ore./Portland Christian HS) had 12 kills while hitting .400 (12-4-20).
Freshman libero Stevi Robinson (Hermosa Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) collected 14 digs and junior setter Kiah Fiers (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Peninsula HS) had 49 assists and directed Pepperdine to a .343 hitting percentage.
The Waves had to dig themselves out of holes a few times in the first set, most notably after a 5-1 spurt made it 20-16 in LMU’s favor. Pepperdine responded, however, going on a 6-1 run and taking a 22-21 lead after a Rubenstein kill. A service error tied the set again, but senior middle blocker Cassi Chamberlain (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood HS) helped save the day when she recorded a kill after a lengthy rally, then followed that up with a service ace to make it 24-22. The Waves clinched the set on an LMU service error.
The second set was tied 5-5 when the Waves went on a 7-1 run, as three kills from Rubenstein plus three miscues by the Lions helped Pepperdine out to a 12-6 advantage. LMU got no closer than four points the rest of the set. Lumsden scored the Waves’ final two points, including the set-clincher, on kills. Rubenstein and Lumsden each had five kills in the second set, and the Waves improved their hitting to .500 (up from .135 in the first set).
The third set had a remarkable 18 ties, including every point from 13-13 to 25-25 except for one. The Waves served for the match at 24-23 but LMU’s Ariana Covington came up with a kill. Tied 25-25, a Pepperdine blocking error gave LMU the lead and a service ace by Becky Stehling sent the match to a fourth set. LMU pulled off the win despite a .424-.343 edge in hitting for the Waves.
The fourth set was tied 10-10 when a Lion hitting error was followed by back-to-back service aces by Lumsden, making it 13-10. Another 3-0 run, keyed by kills by Frederick and Rubenstein, made it 16-11. The lead grew from there, as a 4-0 run made it 21-13. The match ended on a Chamberlain kill. The Waves held LMU to a negative-.034 hitting percentage in the fourth set while posting a .333 average of their own.
LMU hit .184 as a team and was led by Emily Day’s match-high 17 kills.
Pepperdine is ranked #14 by Molten/Volleyball Magazine and #17 by the AVCA.
After three straight road matches to open WCC play, the Waves get to host seven of the next 11 at Firestone Fieldhouse, beginning with home contests against Gonzaga and Portland, next Thursday (Oct. 16) and Saturday (Oct. 18), respectively.
