PORTLAND, Ore. ­Â— The #19/24 Pepperdine women’s volleyball team scored the first 14 points of the match and rolled to a 25-12, 25-21, 27-25 victory at Portland in a West Coast Conference match on Thursday evening.

 

The Waves (18-5, 6-5) defeated the Pilots (6-22, 0-12) for the 28th consecutive time and improved to 42-2 in the all-time series.

 

Senior outside hitter Julie Rubenstein (Camarillo, Calif./Oaks Christian HS) had a match-high 15 kills and posted her team-high 10th double-double of the season with 10 digs. Junior outside hitter Rachel Lumsden (Brea, Calif./Brea Olinda HS) added 13 kills.

 

Junior setter Kiah Fiers (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Peninsula HS), back after missing the last four matches due to injury, had 33 assists and helped the Waves outhit the Pilots, .269 to .146. Freshman libero Stevi Robinson (Hermosa Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) added a team-best 13 digs.

 

Portland served to begin the match, and Lumsden put down a kill. Fiers took over as server and it wasn’t until her 14th serve that the Pilots finally scored a point. During the 14-0 run, Lumsden had five kills, Fiers had two service aces and freshman middle blocker Kim Hill (Portland, Ore./Portland Christian HS) had a solo block and a kill. With a 22-12 lead, Rubenstein had two straight kills and the set ended on a Portland attack error.

 

It was only half as long as the one to start the match, but another run helped the Waves’ cause in the second set. Portland led 5-4 when a 7-0 run resulted in an 11-5 lead for Pepperdine. Senior middle blocker Cassi Chamberlain (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood HS) and Fiers each had a kill and shared a block. The Waves’ lead grew to 18-10 after a 4-0 run. The Pilots made a run of their own to close within two points, first at 20-18 and again at 21-19. The Waves held on and eventually clinched the set on a block by Rubenstein and Hill.

 

Once again in the third set, a Pepperdine scoring streak made a big difference. The Pilots had a 10-9 lead when the Waves scored seven straight points with Rubenstein recording two service aces and a kill. That made the Waves’ lead 16-10. Still, despite a 24-19 lead, the Pilots didn’t go quietly by scoring five straight points to tie the set. Tied 25-25, the Waves won the match after a block by Chamberlain and Lumsden and a Rubenstein kill.

 

Pepperdine is ranked #19 by Molten/Volleyball Magazine and #24 in the Bison/AVCA poll.

 

The Waves play their final WCC road match at Gonzaga on Saturday (Nov. 15) at 1 p.m.