Pepperdine University
Georgia
Waves Show Composure in Four-Set Win Over Georgia
9/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 2, 2011
Pepperdine 3, Georgia 1 Box Score 
MALIBU, Calif. - After a bit of a slow start, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team rallied to defeat Georgia in four sets (19-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-13) on night one of the Asics Classic. Freshman Katie Messing starred for the Waves' offense, knocking down a match-high 16 kills earned on a .500 hitting percentage.
Messing (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands HS) was nearly unstoppable on the attack, posting the kill on 16 of her 28 swings. Defensively, the outside hitter totaled four blocks and two digs.
Kim Hill (Portland, Ore./Portland HS) and Lilla Frederick (Huntington Beach, Calif./Cornelia Connelly HS) also got in on the offensive action, and recorded 14 and 12 kills, respectively.
After a shaky first set, Pepperdine (2-1) began firing on all cylinders and finished the night with 59 team kills on a .312 clip. The backcourt was well tended by the triple-threat of Kellie Woolever (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS), Frederick and Michaela Christiaansen (Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood Ridge HS) who helped bring the Waves' dig tally to 57.
The Bulldogs (2-2) concluded the evening with 46 kills behind a respectable .225 hitting percentage, and 42 digs. Brittany Northcutt led her team with 14 kills and nine digs.
Georgia struck first in set one and held the lead the entire frame, as Pepperdine struggled to find its rhythm offensively. The Bulldogs swung for a .414 success rate on the attack, while holding the Waves to .214 to put the set away 25-19.
Pepperdine was able to regroup and refocus in the second stanza, and sprinted out to an 8-4 lead after back-to-back service aces, courtesy of Hill. Messing continued the Waves' serving dominance in the next rotation, and helped the home team put three more unanswered points on the board.
The Bulldogs attackers continued to swing, but Pepperdine's defense was nearly impenetrable. Woolever, who ended the night with a team-best 13 digs, earned five of them in the second set, while Samantha Cash (San Diego, Calif./Canyon Crest Academy) and Messing dished two rejections apiece at the net. Woolever flexed her offensive muscles as well, and nailed down a kill to bring the score to set point. A Georgia service error put the 25th point on the board for the Waves.
The momentum continued to go in Pepperdine's favor during game three until the Bulldogs went on a 5-0 run to put the match back in the balance and tie the score 8-8. Pepperdine quickly regained the advantage with solid defense, as the Waves continued dig up attacks that looked destined to hit the floor. Good defense led to even better offense, as Pepperdine continued to roll. Cash pegged down the final kill to give the Waves a 2-1 lead.
There was no stopping Pepperdine in the fourth and final set, as the team hit for a blistering .389 attack percentage. Messing tacked an additional seven kills to her total, while Christiaansen collected eight digs to finish the evening with 12. One last kill from Frederick put the final frame away 25-13.
Miami defeated UC Santa Barbara, 3-0 in the first match of the evening inside Firestone Fieldhouse.
The Waves continue action at the Pepperdine Asics Classic tomorrow when they face the Gauchos at 12:30 p.m. The Hurricanes and the Bulldogs get the day started at 10 a.m.
