Oct. 16, 2014 Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
MALIBU, Calif. - Despite a season-high 17 kills out of senior Katie Messing, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team was unable to come up with the win on Thursday evening against Santa Clara and fell 3-1. The Waves look to rebound on Saturday, when they conclude the weekend with a 1 p.m. home match versus San Francisco.
Although the Waves swung at a solid .246 (59 kills-16 errors-175 attempts) hitting percentage, the Broncos covered the floor well on defense and out-dug the home team 81-59. Four Santa Clara (14-6, 4-3 West Coast Conference) players surpassed double digits in digs, led by Danielle Rottman with 22.
Pepperdine (7-12, 2-5 WCC) won the defensive battle at the net, however, and charted nine blocks to the Broncos' seven. Samantha Cash (San Diego, Calif./Canyon Crest Academy) led the Waves with five rejections, bringing her career tally to 399.
Messing (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands HS) paced the match with a season-best 17 kills, while adding eight digs and a pair of blocks. Jillian Bergeson (Friendswood, Texas/Friendswood HS) followed with 13 kills and Cash added an even 10.
The offense was managed by Becca Strehlow (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS), who dished 48 assists. The junior also picked up 12 digs for her 13th double-double of the season.
Allie Loitz (Bonita, Calif./Bonita Vista HS) helped protect the court with a team-high 14 digs.
The two teams battled back and forth the entire first frame, but Pepperdine got a leg up in the crucial final points. After the Waves took an 18-15 lead, Santa Clara went on a 5-1 run to overtake the advantage. Pepperdine was not done, however, and went back ahead after scoring three unanswered points that included a tandem block by Cash and Strehlow. After Messing terminated a kill at the end of a long rally, the Broncos threatened again but Strehlow dumped a ball to clinch the set 25-23.
Santa Clara responded in set two with a strong showing on both offense and defense. With 19 team digs and a .429 clip in the stanza, the visitors won 25-19 to knot the match at 1-1.
Set three mirrored the first, with the two teams going point-for-point with one another for most of the frame. Tied at 18, the Broncos scored three-straight points which proved to be all the separation they would need as they sided their way out to the 25-21 win.
Pepperdine made a strong campaign to force a fifth set, and stormed out to a 16-10 lead in the fourth. Santa Clara would squash the comeback effort, however, and turned the momentum over after tying the set at 19-all. The Broncos would take the lead once and for all at 21-20 and held on to win 25-23 to end the match.
The Waves conclude the week on Saturday, October 18 when they host San Francisco inside Firestone Fieldhouse at 1 p.m. The match can be watch online for free via WaveCasts.
