Final Stats

MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine women's volleyball team took the second loss of the season tonight as the nationally ranked No. 6 Trojans of USC took the match in straight-set fashion. The Waves fell 20-25, 15-25 and 18-25 in each set to drop the 2015 record to 7-2.

Freshmen Tarah Wylie (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS) and Nikki Lyons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS), along with junior Gaby Palmeri (Davis, Calif./St. Francis HS) led the Waves' offensive. Wylie tallied eight kills and a .222 hitting percentage, Lyons was good for six kills and two digs and assists and Palmeri tabbed seven kills and a .250 attack output. Olivia Okoro (Carrollton, Texas/Hebron HS/Tennessee) also added five kills and a .286 hitting percentage, along with three blocks for the Waves.

Seniors Becca Strehlow (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS/UCLA) and Lara Dykstra (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union HS/Nebraska) also played a key role for Pepperdine. Strehlow tabbed 24 assists and nine digs while Dykstra helped the cause with 14 digs and three assists.

The Waves stayed with the Trojans in the first set, with USC keeping a slight lead through most of play. Pepperdine tied things up 16-16 late in the set after a three-point run to close the gap, but the Trojans continued finding the floor for the next four-points to go up 20-16. Despite a valiant effort, USC closed out the set 25-20.

Despite coming out and commanding the beginning of the second set, USC buckled down and worked the Waves defense for a 16-12 lead. After a five-point run, the Trojans put a 21-12 lead over Pepperdine that the team would not be able to overcome. The Waves eventually fell 25-15 to go down 2-0 heading into the third set.

The third set started nearly identically to the first two, with the Waves going up over the Trojans ever-so-slightly early on. Then with the serving stylings of senior Samantha Bricio of USC, the Trojans took over the lead and widened the gap to 7-3 over the Waves.

Pepperdine battled back, remaining just out of reach of claiming the lead. The Waves kept putting in the hard work and finding holes in the USC defense, which helped the team bring the set score to a 23-17 gap before the Trojans took the ball back. The set ended 25-18 to close out the match with a three-set loss.

Next, the Waves will return to the Galen Center for day two of the USC Invitational tomorrow, September 11. Pepperdine will take on Utah State at 12:30 p.m. The match will have live stats available here: gowav.es/1KebyYC. A live stream will also be available here: http://pac-12.com/live/usc.