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MALIBU, Calif. -- The Pepperdine women's volleyball team faced off with Loyola Marymount for an eventful battle of PCH this Saturday afternoon. The Waves won the Wells Fargo PCH Cup event after putting up 17-25, 25-18, 25-16, 16-25 and 15-12 set scores in the first five-set match the team has played this season.

As a team, Pepperdine posted a .196 hitting percentage (56 kills-26 errors-153 attempts), five service aces, a .908 serving percentage and 10.5 total team blocks on the day. The win advances the Waves record to 10-4 overall and 1-0 in the West Coast Conference.

"It was a little of a concern because we haven't gone to five sets before," said head coach Scott Wong. "We've been training really hard the past couple of days, but I think what it came down to was their desire to want to be great under great circumstances. It was awesome to see them respond and at a high level."

Junior outside hitter Gaby Palmeri (Davis, Calif./St. Francis HS) led the team with a commanding 14 kills, and with only two errors in 25 attempts, finished with a .480 success rate on the attack.

"Gaby played really well in every part of the game," Wong said. "She blocked well and she was our go-to hitter. She's a hard worker that does everything right off the court and in the gym so it was nice to see her do well during the game."

Senior setter Becca Strehlow (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS/UCLA) was key in her playmaker role with 39 assists. She also picked up seven kills, 12 digs, three block assists and one service ace in the effort. Senior libero Lara Dykstra (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union HS/Nebraska) earned another above-20 dig match with 24 on the day. She amassed five assists and one ace as well for Pepperdine.

The Waves worked well to distribute their offensive attack today, with six other Waves also amassing six or more kills apiece. Middle blockers junior Olivia Okoro (Carrollton, Texas/Hebron HS/Tennessee) and freshman Tarah Wylie (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS) finished up with eight kills each. Okoro tallied a .267 hitting percentage (4 errors-15 attempts) and led the team with four block assists. Wylie led the effort with two service aces and also tabbed three block assists for the Waves.

"We always want to have a balanced offense," Wong said. "Good teams take away other team's strengths and LMU did a good job taking away some of our strengths. We have confidence in the players we put on the court, and part of that is offense, and we did a nice job spreading it out today."

Freshman opposite Heidi Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) finished with seven kills in the match, while adding 12 digs and three block assists towards the Waves win. Outside hitters sophomore Katherine Towslee (Woodinville, Wash./Eastside Catholic HS/Connecticut) and freshman Nikki Lyons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) each had six kills apiece. Lyons also earned 10 digs, one block solo and two block assists, while Towslee posted one block assist on the day.

"LMU is a great blocking team," said setter Becca Strehlow. "I had to spread it out or they would catch on. They are a really smart team and they work on blocking, so I knew that I had to spread the offense in order for us to succeed."

The Waves started with an early 3-1 lead with the help of Dykstra at the service line, but the Lions came to play at evened things up relatively quickly. Loyola Marymount then took over the lead, one the team would never give up despite the Waves best efforts, and amassed a 10-6 lead. Late in the set, LMU put up a three-point run to gain a larger edge and eventually put the set away 25-17 to go up 1-0 over Pepperdine.

The second set started much like the first with the Waves accumulating a 3-1 lead early on. The opposition stayed close to Pepperdine for a while, with the score reaching its last tied score at 12-12. This time, however, Pepperdine put a foot on the gas pedal and propelled away from the Lions towards 19-15 advantage. The Waves stayed strong and closed out the second set 25-18 to even the match score, 1-1.

Despite going down 4-1 in the third set, the Waves rallied back and worked to even the score 6-6. After a few back-and-forth volleys and lead changes, Pepperdine gained the advantage they would keep. With Dykstra once again at the service line, the Waves worked to a 12-10 lead. From there, the team kept pounding down on the Lions, closing out the set 25-16 and holding a 2-1 advantage into the fourth set.

The opposition worked for an early advantage in the set, and the Waves had a difficult time overcoming. LMU put up an 11-2 rally over the Waves to amass a 21-10 lead. Despite Pepperdine's best efforts, the visiting team put the set away 25-16 to even up the score 2-2, and send the match to five sets.

In the first fifth set the Waves have played this season, Pepperdine started well with a 3-0 lead. The Lions refused to roll over to make it an easy victory, however, and challenged the Waves with every ounce the team had. With Dykstra's standard instrumental performance on the service line continued, she helped Pepperdine to a 9-5 lead to gain the edge. Wylie helped the Waves along with her second ace of the day to go up 13-8 on the back stretch. The home team were sure not to disappoint the fans and closed the set out with a 15-12 win.

"Coach has been playing us really well," Strehlow said. "He pushes us in practice and we work hard. It was a tough weekend in Wyoming last week and I think we learned how to compete and keep battling. Today, we realized we would need to get momentum for the fifth set; we prepared well and that helped us finish with the win."

Next, the Waves will hit the road for a short trip to San Diego on Tuesday (September 29) to take on the Toreros at 6 p.m. at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.