Final Stats

Box Score: #10 BYU 3, Pepperdine 0

MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine women's volleyball team delivered a strong performance against #10-ranked BYU, but ultimately fell short on Tuesday evening against the powerhouse. Katie Messing led the match with 15 kills in the Waves' 25-17, 25-21, 25-20 loss.

With the setback, Pepperdine drops to 6-9 overall and 1-2 in the West Coast Conference. The Cougars, unanimously picked to finish first in the WCC preseason coaches poll, improve to 12-2 and 3-0 in the league.

Messing (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands HS) returned to the starting lineup and led the floor with 15 kills. The senior ended the night hitting a solid .256 after taking a match-high 43 swings.

Gaby Palmeri (Davis, Calif./St. Francis HS) followed with nine kills, while Becca Strehlow (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS) added eight. On defense, Strehlow continued to shine and collected 15 digs. The junior is averaging an astounding 5.27 digs per set against conference opponents.

BYU was led by Alexa Gray with 14 kills, followed by Jennifer Hamson's 12. Whitney Young assisted on six of the Cougar's 9.5 blocks.

Samantha Cash (San Diego, Calif./Canyon Crest Academy) was present and accounted for in all five of the Waves' rejections as she continues to climb higher on Pepperdine's all-time list. The senior has charted 385 career blocks and is now just eight away from overtaking third place in program history.

The Waves came out swinging, and commanded a 5-2 lead after Palmeri and Cash teamed up for a block against Tambre Nobles. The nationally-ranked Cougars eventually found their rhythm after the slow start and tied things up at 8-8 before making a 9-3 run to tip the scales in their favor. BYU would side its way out to win 25-17.

Pepperdine battled BYU point-for-point in set two, but the Cougars scored three unanswered points out of the media timeout to go ahead 18-13. Thanks to the impenetrable block put up by Cash and Palmeri, the Waves narrowed the cap to two, 20-18, but could not come up with the run they needed to overcome the deficit. With her sixth kill of the set, Gray secured things for the visitors 25-21.

Once again, the Waves stayed in step with BYU in the opening half of the third set but were unable to break through. Tied 8-8, Camry Willardson served her team to a 6-0 run to overtake the lead once and for all. Although Pepperdine never trailed far behind, the home team was unable to avoid the sweep and bowed out 25-20.

Jillian Bergeson (Friendswood, Texas/Friendswood HS) paced Pepperdine with 16 digs, while Chanel Brown (Tempe, Ariz./Valley Christian HS/Arizona) dished 18 assists. Strehlow added 14 helpers from the back row.

Pepperdine continues the week with visits to WCC foes Gonzaga (Oct. 2) and Portland (Oct. 4).