MALIBU, Calif. ­Â— Senior outside hitter Julie Rubenstein and freshman middle blocker Kim Hill combined for 27 kills without an error to lead the #20/23 Pepperdine women’s volleyball team to a three-set sweep (25-13, 25-21, 25-13) of rival Loyola Marymount in a West Coast Conference match on Thursday evening.

 

Both schools entered the night with four-match losing streaks, but the Waves (17-5, 5-5) put a resounding end to theirs and captured their eighth straight home win over the Lions (12-12, 2-8).

 

LMU didn’t lead once in the match as the Waves began each set with leads of 2-0, 4-0 and 5-0.

 

Both Rubenstein (Camarillo, Calif./Oaks Christian HS) and Hill (Portland, Ore./Portland Christian HS) had hitting percentages of better than 60 percent. Rubenstein had a match-high 16 kills and hit .640 (16-0-25) to go with seven digs and four blocks, while Hill had 11 kills, hit .647 (11-0-17) and added four blocks.

 

Sophomore setter Kealohilani Kea (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kamehameha HS) had 43 assists and directed the Waves to their second-best hitting performance of the season at .434.

 

Freshman outside hitter Lilla Frederick (Huntington Beach, Calif./Cornelia Connelly HS) had nine kills and 10 digs, junior outside hitter Rachel Lumsden (Brea, Calif./Brea Olinda HS) had nine kills and seven digs, senior middle blocker Cassi Chamberlain (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood HS) had six kills and freshman libero Stevi Robinson (Hermosa Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) had a match-high 17 digs.

 

After mostly trading points for a short while in the first set, the Waves effectively put the set out of reach with an 8-0 run that made it 14-4. Lumsden had two service aces and Chamberlain had two kills and two block assists to lead the Waves’ cause during the run. The lead grew to 12 points at 20-8 after a Rubenstein kill, and the margin became 13 when the Waves clinched the set on a Lumsden kill. Pepperdine hit an outstanding .600 (16-1-25) in the first set, with Rubenstein putting down six kills on seven attempts.

 

Hill helped the Waves out to a good start in the second set, as she had two kills and a block assist en route to a 7-2 lead. LMU would close to within two points at 9-7 after a Renee Horton service ace, but Rubenstein had two kills in a 4-0 run to push Pepperdine’s lead back up to 13-7. The Lions would only get to within three points the rest of the way, first at 16-13 and last at 24-21. The set ended on a Lumsden kill. Rubenstein added another six kills in the set as the Waves hit .385.

 

Hill was again the catalyst early in the third set, as she had kills on the first two points and was later in on a block to help the Waves out to a 5-0 lead. LMU closed the gap to 7-5, but Chamberlain and Frederick had three kills apiece during a 10-1 run to make the score 17-6. Hill had a kill and two blocks as part of a 4-0 run that made the score 21-7. A Frederick kill ended the match, which lasted just 76 minutes. The Waves hit .371 during the last set and held LMU to a .000 mark with seven kills and seven errors.

 

LMU hit .154 as a team and was led by Ariana Covington’s eight kills and Diana Hiromoto’s 10 digs.

 

Pepperdine is ranked #20 by Molten/Volleyball Magazine and #23 by the AVCA.

 

The Waves are off this weekend and next play a pair of road matches at Portland (Nov. 13) and Gonzaga (Nov. 15).