Final Stats

MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball squad closed out day one of the Wyoming Invitational with a straight-set loss to tournament hosts Wyoming, 23-25, 19-25, 22-25.

Freshman outside hitter Nikki Lyons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) led the attack with 10 kills, while adding five digs in the match. Freshmen Tarah Wylie (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS) and Heidi Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) also had a strong attack with nine and eight kills apiece.

Senior middle blocker Olivia Okoro (Carrollton, Texas/Hebron HS/Tennessee) impressed with seven block assists all day and senior setter Becca Strehlow (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS/UCLA) was as consistent as always with 31 assists, five block assists, six digs and three kills. Senior libero Lara Dykstra (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union HS/Nebraska) posted 14 digs in the effort as well.

The first set was neck-to-neck, nearly point-to-point up to an 18-18 set score. Wyoming started to inch away, but Pepperdine refused to let the Cowgirls run away with things. The opposition eventually finished with a 25-23 set win to go up 1-0.

In the second set, the lead changed frequently throughout with the Waves posting a 13-11 advantage during the set. Wyoming then went on quite a run, posting a 22-16 gap over Pepperdine. The home team took set two 25-19 to head into the third set up 2-0.

Set three was much to the same tune as previous sets with both teams reaching six points before the Cowgirls started pulling away. Despite the Waves best offensive efforts, Wyoming pulled away to a 21-15 lead. Pepperdine attempted to close the gap, but were unable, ultimately falling in the final set 25-21.

The Waves will finish up the Wyoming Invitational tomorrow at 9 a.m. (PT) against McNeese State.