MALIBU, Calif. ­Â— The Pepperdine women’s volleyball team captured its fourth straight tournament title of the season and improved its record to 12-0 after winning twice on Saturday at the 2008 Pepperdine Asics Classic at Firestone Fieldhouse.
The Waves began the day with a 25-15, 25-16, 25-15 win over Cal State Northridge and ended it with a 25-15, 25-8, 25-18 win over Texas State. In the middle match of the day, UC Santa Barbara defeated Texas State, 25-16, 25-23, 25-18.
Pepperdine’s 12-0 record is now the school’s second-best start in the program’s history, and the Waves are now just one victory away from tying their best-ever 13-0 mark of 1997.
Senior outside hitter Julie Rubenstein (Camarillo, Calif./Oaks Christian HS) is now 4-for-4 on tournament MVP honors after winning the award for the fourth straight week. She averaged 4.0 kills with a .395 hitting percentage this weekend. She was joined on the all-tournament team by junior outside hitter Rachel Lumsden (Brea, Calif./Brea Olinda HS) and senior middle blocker Cassi Chamberlain (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood HS). Lumsden averaged 2.7 kills and 2.7 digs while Chamberlain averaged 2.2 kills and 1.2 blocks.
“With no more non-conference matches until the end of the season, we can now concentrate on the West Coast Conference,” Pepperdine Coach Nina Matthies said. “I couldn’t be happier with where we are now. This is exactly how we drew it up. We had no blips during the pre-conference season, and I’m very proud of the kids for not allowing that to happen.”
The Waves defeated the Matadors in a little more than an hour in the morning session. The only time that CSUN led at any point in the match was at 1-0 and 2-1 in the third set. Pepperdine hit .296 and, thanks to 15 blocks, held the Matadors to a .017 hitting percentage, just a few thousandths of a point away from the season low by a Wave opponent.
Pepperdine pulled away quickly, taking five-point leads at 7-2 in the first set, 9-4 in the second set and 8-3 in the third set.
Rubenstein had 10 kills, while freshman libero Stevi Robinson (Hermosa Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) had 16 digs, freshman outside hitter Lilla Frederick (Huntington Beach, Calif./Cornelia Connelly HS) had seven kills and 10 digs. Lumsden and freshman middle blocker Kim Hill (Portland, Ore./Portland Christian HS) each had six kills and seven blocks and Chamberlain had six kills and six blocks.
CSUN sophomore outside hitter Siara Grayson had a match-high 12 kills.
In the evening match, the Waves hit a season-high .474 as a team, connecting on 42 kills with just six hitting errors. Texas State hit just .103. Rubenstein had 11 kills and seven digs for the Waves, while junior setter Kiah Fiers (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Peninsula HS) had 29 assists and Robinson had 13 digs. Chamberlain hit .857 (6-0-7) and had four blocks, while Lumsden had eight kills and eight digs.
The Waves and Bobcats traded points for a while to begin with and Pepperdine trailed 12-11 before turning it on in a big way. The Waves scored three straight points to go up 14-12 and only allowed Texas State two points the rest of the way. Frederick had six kills in the first set.
Pepperdine’s momentum didn’t change in the second set, and the Waves actually heated it up even more. They held the Bobcats to eight points, a season-low in any set this season by a Pepperdine opponent. The Waves hit .667 (10 kills and no errors on 15 swings), while Texas State hit a negative-.100 (7-10-30).
The run kept up in the third set, as the Waves got off to 6-0 lead. However, the Bobcats didn’t go away quite as easily in the third set, pulling to within one point at 17-16. Just like that, however, Pepperdine ended the match on an 8-2 run.
“Texas State came out very focused, they wanted to win, and they put some pressure on us,” Matthies said. “But we weathered the storm and figured it out after 10 or 15 points. We caught fire, got some blocks and capitalized on their mistakes. We have so many weapons, and it’s getting to the point where we can be fairly tough to defend.”
Texas State was led by 11 kills from sophomore right-side AJ Watlington.
Pepperdine is ranked #14 by Molten/Volleyball Magazine and #21 by the AVCA. The Waves take a weekend off and will look to extend their winning streak when they begin West Coast Conference play with a road trip to Saint Mary’s (Oct. 2) and Santa Clara (Oct. 4).
Final Standings
1. Pepperdine (3-0)
2. UC Santa Barbara (1-1)
3. Texas State (1-2)
4. Cal State Northridge (0-2)
All-Tournament Team
Julie Rubenstein, Pepperdine (MVP)
Cassi Chamberlain, Pepperdine
Rachel Lumsden, Pepperdine
Kasey Kipp, UC Santa Barbara
Lauren McLaughlin, UC Santa Barbara
Emily Jones Wilkes, Texas State
Siara Grayson, Cal State Northridge
