Pepperdine-San Diego Box Score 
MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine women's volleyball team put a resounding end to its four-match losing streak on Saturday, sweeping #20-ranked San Diego, 25-18, 25-23, 25-23, in West Coast Conference play at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Less than two days after being swept by Saint Mary's in the WCC opener, the Waves (8-6, 1-1) made a big turnaround, hitting .365 and posting advantages of 10-4 in blocks and 6-0 in service aces. The Toreros, who hit .316, dropped to 9-4, 1-1.
Senior opposite Rachel Grochmal (Brea, Calif./Brea Olinda HS) had a match-high 14 kills with six digs and sophomore outside hitter Lilla Frederick (Huntington Beach, Calif./Cornelia Connelly HS) recorded 13 kills and seven digs.
Senior setter Kiah Fiers (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Peninsula HS) had 36 assists and seven digs and freshman outside hitter Caitlin Racich (Santa Barbara, Calif./Dos Pueblos HS) posted nine kills and hit .429 on 21 errorless swings.
San Diego got 10 kills apiece from Torey Ellick and Carrie Baird, 45 assists from Kelsi Myers and 10 digs from Kaylee Webster.
"We had a talk after the last match about personal commitment," Pepperdine Coach Nina Matthies said. "When you're not playing well and are losing, all of the negative things come out, and we needed to stop that. We were doing a lot of things right, but we were pressing. We made some changes in the lineup and they really played fantastic."
Pepperdine never trailed in the first set. It was tied 5-5 when a kill and a service ace by Racich put the Waves ahead to stay, and a block by Frederick and sophomore middle blocker Kim Hill (Portland, Ore./Portland Christian HS) made it 8-5. After a USD point, the Waves went on a 6-0 run that included two service aces by sophomore libero Stevi Robinson (Hermosa Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) and two kills and a solo block by Frederick. With Pepperdine then ahead 14-6, the teams roughly traded points the rest of the way, with the Toreros getting no closer than five points. The last two Wave points were scored on a USD service error and an attack error. Pepperdine had a .231-.192 hitting edge.
San Diego would take a few leads in the second set, but never by more than a point. And when the Toreros were up 20-19, they had a swing to take a two-point lead, but instead an attack error tied it up. Later, a Racich kill put Pepperdine ahead and was followed by a USD attack error that made it 23-21. Pepperdine maintained its advantage and ended the closely contested set on a kill by Grochmal. The Waves had an impressive offensive showing, hitting .517 (16 kills and one error) to San Diego's .368, led by six kills by Grochmal.
The Waves fell behind by as many as four points in the third set, as a block by USD's Ellick made the score 14-10. But they came roaring back, tying it at 16-16 on a Racich service ace and going ahead 18-16 after kills by Frederick and freshman middle blocker Brittney Clark (San Jose, Calif./Presentation HS). The set was tied at 22-22 after kills by Ellick and Baird, but the Waves scored the next two points on a kill by Grochmal and a service ace by freshman middle blocker Victoria Adelhelm (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./Santa Fe Christian HS). Ellick had a kill to stave off the first match point, but Grochmal ended it on the next play with a kill. The Toreros actually had a .355-.341 hitting edge in the third set.
The Waves started two freshmen (Racich and Adelhelm) and Matthies made a nice move by inserting a third freshman, Clark, into the lineup in the third set. In addition to Racich's nine kills, Adelhelm had six kills and Clark posted two kills and a team-high-tying four block assists.
"Our freshmen have been incredible, all of them, all year long," Matthies said. "They just play hard because they don't know any better."
The Waves defeated a ranked team for the second time this season, with the other being Colorado State in the season opener. Four of Pepperdine's six losses are to ranked teams.
The Waves take their first WCC road trip next weekend with stops at Gonzaga (Thursday, Oct. 8) and Portland (Saturday, Oct. 10).
