MALIBU, Calif. ­Â— The #24 Pepperdine women’s volleyball team earned one of its most dominating victories of the season, and against a ranked opponent no less, with a 25-19, 25-10, 25-17 win over #25 San Francisco in a West Coast Conference match on Thursday evening.
The Waves (20-5, 8-5) improved to 24-0 all-time at home against USF. The Dons (20-7, 10-3) suffered a serious blow toward their hopes for a WCC title, as they began the night tied for the lead with San Diego. Pepperdine also avenged a four-set loss to USF from earlier this season.
Senior outside hitter Julie Rubenstein (Camarillo, Calif./Oaks Christian HS) had a match-high 17 kills and hit .441 (17-2-34). Junior setter Kiah Fiers (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Peninsula HS) had 39 assists and helped the Waves to a .404 team hitting percentage.
Freshman outside hitter Lilla Frederick (Huntington Beach, Calif/Cornelia Connelly HS) had 10 kills and hit .474 (10-1-19). Freshman libero Stevi Robinson (Hermosa Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) added 21 digs.
USF was held to a .096 team hitting percentage, the lowest by a Pepperdine opponent in conference play this season. The Dons were led by Carly Babin’s 14 kills.
“I want to commend the rest of the coaching staff for having the so well-prepared and strategically ready,” Pepperdine Coach Nina Matthies said. “The kids have worked really hard for the past three weeks and they really took care of things tonight, so I couldn’t be happier. We had a goal of winning our last six matches, and we’re 4-0, so we’re almost there. They played like a championship team tonight, and that’s what we’ve been waiting for.”
Senior middle blocker Cassi Chamberlain (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood HS) had a kill and a service ace to start a 5-1 run that helped Pepperdine out to a 7-3 lead. With a 10-8 lead, the Waves ran off five straight points, three on Rubenstein kills, to make the score 15-8. USF got no closer than four points the rest of the way, and the Waves ended the first set on back-to-back kills by Fiers and Rubenstein. Pepperdine hit .485 in the first set, led by Rubenstein’s seven kills and Frederick’s five kills on five swings.
Rubenstein helped the Waves off to another good start in the second set. She began a 5-0 run (which made the score 8-2) with a kill, and she and freshman middle blocker Kim Hill (Portland, Ore./Portland Christian HS) also teamed up for back-to-back blocks. The lead only grew from there to 13-4, 16-5, 20-7 and 23-8 before Pepperdine ended the set after a kill by Hill and a USF error. The Waves kept up their torrid hitting (.417) led by five kills by Rubenstein and four by Frederick.
The Dons took their first lead of the match in the third set, though it was small (by no more than one point) and brief (last coming at 3-2). Tied 6-6, Pepperdine scored four straight points, including two kills by Rubenstein. She later keyed another 4-0 run with two service aces, making the score 17-9. Although USF closed to within four points at 18-14, the Waves ended the match on a 7-3 run, with Rubenstein recording the match-clinching kill. Although the Waves hit only .300 in the third set, it was enough as USF hit a match-low .071.
With the victory, Pepperdine clinched a 20-win season for the 17th time in program history, and the first since 2003.
The Waves play their home and WCC finale on Saturday (Nov. 22) against #17 San Diego at 1 p.m. The Waves’ three seniors – Rubenstein, Chamberlain and Caitlin Lawson – will be honored prior to the match. Pepperdine’s final regular-season match is at #9 UCLA next Tuesday (Nov. 25).
