Oct. 22, 2015 Final Stats
MALIBU, Calif. -- The Pepperdine women's volleyball team had a challenge this Thursday night as the Waves hosted No. 12 BYU in Firestone Fieldhouse to continue West Coast Conference play. The Cougars (18-2, 8-1 WCC) had the edge on the Waves, earning 25-13, 25-19 and 25-16 set scores to finish out the match with a straight-set win. Pepperdine is now 13-9 overall and 4-5 within conference competition.
Freshman outside hitter Nikki Lyons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) led the Waves with nine kills on the night. She also posted 19 serve receptions successfully, two digs and one block assist.
Freshman middle blocker Tarah Wylie (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS) posted five kills and no errors in 11 attempts for a .455 hitting percentage. Junior Brooke Honeycutt (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista HS) led the team with four block assists, while also tabbing three kills in the match. Freshmen Heidi Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) and Jenna Tunnell (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista HS) each also had three kills apiece.
Seniors Becca Strehlow (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS/UCLA) and Lara Dykstra (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union HS/Nebraska) gave up a good effort as well. Strehlow led the team with 22 assists and 14 digs for her 11th double-double of 2015, while tallying two block assists. Dykstra was good for 10 digs, 10 serve receptions and one solid ace for the Waves as well.
The Waves came out big against the Cougars, but BYU just hammered the ball in the first set, opening the match with a 6-2 lead over the home team. Pepperdine kept the gap close together, but were unable to match BYU, falling to a 19-11 deficit and forced to work to close the gap. Despite a good effort by the Waves, the Cougars closed out the set 25-13 to go up 1-0 in the match early on.
Pepperdine came out with a vengeance in the second set, working towards a quick 7-5 lead to get fans up and cheering. The Waves continued putting point on the board, amassing a 15-12 lead before BYU started to get back in the match. The Cougars were not to be outdone, picking up an 8-0 run over the Waves and taking a quick 24-18 lead over the Waves. Pepperdine battled, but were outmatched in the final point, eventually falling in the second set 25-19 to go down 2-0 in the match.
The Cougars started the third set with as much tenacity as the first, amassing a 6-2 lead over the Waves to start. The visitors kept building the gap to put the Waves at a 16-9 deficit later in the set. It was a disadvantage Pepperdine could not overcome, as BYU finished off the set with a 25-16 victory to take the Waves with a straight three sets.
The Waves will be back in action at home on Saturday (October 24), as the team hosts San Diego, a WCC opponent that is currently receiving votes on the AVCA coaches poll. First serve will take place at 1:05 p.m. Watch live and follow live stats by following this link: http://gowav.es/WVB2013. Also, follow @WavesVolleyball on Twitter and Facebook for live updates, and go to PepperdineSports.com for the latest results and recaps.
