CORVALLIS, Ore. ­Â— The Pepperdine women’s volleyball team was pushed by Pacific, but the Waves kept their perfect season record intact with a 3-0 sweep of the Tigers on Saturday at the Oregon State Asics Classic.
The Waves improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 this weekend after beating 17th-ranked Colorado State on Friday and Pacific tonight by a score of 28-26, 26-24, 25-17. Pepperdine is off to its best start since the 2000 season, when the Waves opened up 9-0.
Senior outside hitter Julie Rubenstein (Camarillo, Calif./Oaks Christian HS) had a match-high 16 kills while hitting .367 (16-5-30) with eight digs and five block assists. Junior setter Kiah Fiers (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Peninsula HS) had 33 assists, sophomore libero Krista Friedman (La Verne, Calif./St. Lucy’s Priory HS) had 11 digs and freshman outside hitter Lilla Frederick (Huntington Beach, Calif./Cornelia Connelly HS) added 10 digs.
“We just played fabulous,” Pepperdine Coach Nina Matthies said. “In the first and second sets, it got tight but we fought and battled, which is something we need to do to grow as a team. We won the first set by two and the second set by two. Julie was great and Kiah played unbelievably. She set a fabulous match. We’re growing as a team and this was a good test. Pacific put a lot of pressure on us and I thought the kids really dug their heels in and said we were going to win the first set, we were going to win the second set, and in the third set we rolled. It was a fun match and now we’re looking forward to playing Oregon State tomorrow.”
Pepperdine outhit Pacific, .262 to .219.
Despite being outhit .163 to .025 in the first set, the Waves were able to prevail. The Tigers (0-4) took a 9-6 lead, though five straight points, including two service aces by freshman middle blocker Kim Hill (Portland, Ore./Portland Christian HS), put the Waves ahead 11-9. Pepperdine didn’t trail again in the first set, though Pacific kept it close. Tied 26-26, the Waves finally won after kills by junior outside hitter Rachel Lumsden (Brea, Calif./Brea Olinda HS) and senior middle blocker Cassi Chamberlain (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood HS).
The Waves rarely trailed in the second set, though they were pushed to the end in this one as well. A 6-0 run, which saw two kills by Rubenstein, broke a 9-9 tie and made it 15-9 in the Waves’ favor. Pacific would rally to tie the set at 18-18 and took one-point leads at 21-20 and 22-21. Tied 24-24, Lumsden had a kill and Rubenstein ended it with a service ace. Hitting percentages were largely equal with it being .414 to .412 in Pacific’s favor.
The third set had little of the drama of the first two as the Waves repeatedly scored points off of their serve and never trailed in the set. The hitting percentages were at their widest margin of the match with the Waves at .414 and the Tigers at .143.
The Waves conclude the Oregon State Asics Classic on Sunday (Sept. 7) at 2:30 p.m. against the host Beavers. It will be shown on a tape-delay basis by FSN Prime Ticket on Sept. 11 at 9:30 p.m.
