Pepperdine-UCLA Box Score 
MALIBU, Calif. - The #25 Pepperdine women's volleyball team had a strong start against #7 UCLA on Wednesday night, but the Bruins rallied for a four-set victory (24-26, 25-14, 25-15, 25-22) in non-conference play at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Pepperdine fell to 7-3 overall while UCLA improved to 9-1. The Bruins enjoyed a .268-.195 hitting edge.
Senior outside hitter Rachel Grochmal (Brea, Calif./Brea Olinda HS) and sophomore outside hitter Lilla Frederick (Huntington Beach, Calif./Cornelia Connelly HS) tied with a match-high 13 kills apiece. Grochmal also had 16 digs. Sophomore opposite Kristen Seaton (Terre Haute, Ind./South Vigo HS) had 12 kills.
Pepperdine sophomore libero Stevi Robinson (Hermosa Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) had 16 digs and senior setter Kiah Fiers (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Peninsula HS) posted 43 assists and nine digs.
The Bruins were led by Kaitlin Sather's 12 kills and 12 digs and Amanda Gil's 10 kills and eight blocks.
UCLA also outblocked Pepperdine 11.5-6.0 and had a 10-2 edge in service aces.
The match began almost an hour late due to a scheduling problem with the officials. Whether the delay hurt the Bruins or helped the Waves, Pepperdine got off to a strong start and never trailed in the first set. However, even a seven-point lead wasn't necessarily large enough. Pepperdine held a 20-17 advantage and scored the next four points on kills by sophomore middle blocker Kim Hill (Portland, Ore./Portland Christian HS), Seaton and Grochmal and a block by Grochmal and freshman middle blocker Victoria Adelhelm (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./Santa Fe Christian HS). But even though the score was 24-17, the Bruins fought off seven set points to tie it up at 24-24. Pepperdine finally got a break on a service error, and then a kill by Frederick won it for the Waves. Frederick and Grochmal had four kills apiece for the Waves, who outhit the Bruins .160 to .156.
UCLA then never trailed in the second set after scoring the first three points. Though the waves tied the match at 4-4 and 5-5, the Bruins scored the next three points to take the lead for good at 8-5. UCLA later had runs of 3-0 and 6-0 before ending the set on a 5-0 run. The Bruins upped their hitting to .381 in the second set, while the Waves dipped to .146.
The third set was also won easily by UCLA, which hit .200 to Pepperdine's .094. With the score 2-2, a Pepperdine service error was followed by a service ace by the Bruins' Bojana Todorovic, and then a Wave attack error. The Bruins weren't threatened again in the set.
The Waves rallied in the fourth set and took leads of 8-5 after kills by Seaton and Hill and 10-6 after kills by Frederick and Hill. UCLA eventually tied the score and went ahead as part of a 5-0 run that took the score from a 16-13 deficit to an 18-16 advantage. Kills by Rachael Kidder and Sather ended the match.
The Waves continue their biggest non-conference stretch of the season this weekend, as they travel to #4 Hawaii for two matches on Friday and Saturday (Sept. 18-19).
