Pepperdine-Northern Arizona Box Score 
MALIBU, Calif. - The #21 Pepperdine women's volleyball team opened its 2009 home schedule with a resounding 25-15, 25-13, 25-11 victory over Northern Arizona in Firestone Fieldhouse on Thursday night.
The Waves (4-0) hit a season-high .359 and posted 13 service aces, while holding the Lumberjacks (1-3) to .125 hitting.
Senior outside hitter Rachel Grochmal (Brea, Calif./Brea Olinda HS) had a team-high 12 kills to go with eight digs, while freshman middle blocker Victoria Adelhelm (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./Santa Fe Christian HS) contributed 11 kills, hit .588 (11-1-17) and had four block assists.
Senior setter Kiah Fiers (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Peninsula HS) had 38 assists. Sophomore libero Stevi Robinson (Hermosa Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) and sophomore opposite Kristen Seaton (Terre Haute, Ind./South Vigo HS) posted five service aces apiece. Robinson also had a match-high 18 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Lilla Frederick (Huntington Beach, Calif./Cornelia Connelly HS) had nine kills and Seaton added eight.
"It was a great home opener," said Pepperdine Coach Nina Matthies, who won her 498th career match tonight. "The team stayed really focused. We tried to put our best foot forward in front of our friends and families. We did a good job executing the things that we've been practicing. Northern Arizona was very good defensively and served well, and that's good for us because they made us work."
Adelhelm was a key player in the first set, as she recorded six kills on eight errorless swings. NAU had a brief 2-1 lead, but Adelhelm recorded kills on the next two points, then combined with Seaton on a block to make it 4-2, and the Waves never trailed again. Adelhelm later had two consecutive kills to push Pepperdine's lead to 14-9. A Robinson service ace made it 16-10, and Seaton later had two aces to give the Waves a 19-11 lead. The Waves had a .342-.156 hitting edge in the first set.
The Waves broke out to a 4-1 lead in the second set as Seaton had two kills and Adelhelm had a kill and a block with Frederick. Two kills by Grochmal allowed Pepperdine to double up Northern Arizona at 12-6. Pepperdine took a timeout when the Lumberjacks closed to within 15-11, but the Waves scored 10 of the next 12 points to close out the second set. Pepperdine continued its wide hitting edge, .323 to .071.
Kills by Seaton and Grochmal and a service ace by Frederick put the Waves out to a 3-0 lead at the start of the third set. Seaton later began a 5-0 run that made the score 9-3 with a kill and two service aces. The lead steadily grew and a late 5-0 run, fueled by two Robinson service aces, gave the Waves match point at 24-9. After two Lumberjack points, freshman middle blocker Brittney Clark (San Jose, Calif./Presentation HS) ended it with a kill. The Waves had their highest hitting percentage in the third set with a .412-.143 edge.
Northern Arizona freshman outside hitter Lexie Schroeder provided most of her team's offense, notching 12 of the Lumberjacks' 22 kills.
The match was part of the first night of a tournament that Pepperdine is co-hosting with USC. In the other match tonight, USC defeated Florida Gulf Coast, 25-22, 25-19, 25-15. On Friday night at USC's Galen Center, Northern Arizona plays Florida Gulf Coast at 4:30 p.m., followed by USC vs. Pepperdine at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the Waves host Florida Gulf Coast in Firestone Fieldhouse at 1 p.m.
