Final Stats

MALIBU, Calif. -- It was another thrilling night for the Pepperdine women's volleyball team this Tuesday night, with the Waves ending a five-set bout with San Diego in a 3-2 loss.

After dropping the first set with a high-scoring 26-28 decision, the Waves battled back to go up 201 with 25-21 and 25-20 results. San Diego then gained the edge and took the final two sets 25-21 and 15-13 to the West Coast Conference victory.

As a team, Pepperdine posted a .280 hitting percentage (61 kills-16 errors-161 attempts), 70 digs and 19 block assists in five sets.

Freshman Heidi Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) had a team season-high kill performance with 19 kills and with only two errors in 52 attempts, finished with a .321 hitting percentage. She also tabbed seven digs, two assists and two block assists towards the Waves' effort.

Fellow freshman Tarah Wylie (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS) finished with 10 kills (1 errors-19 attempts-) and a .474 success rate on the attack. She also posted seven block assists and one service ace on the night.

Seniors Becca Strehlow (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS/UCLA) and Lara Dykstra (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union HS/Nebraska) also put up some big numbers. Strehlow had a season-high 51 assists and added another double-double with 16 digs. She also tabbed one block solo, four block assists and three kills. Dykstra added 18 digs and three assists for the Waves.

Junior Brooke Honeycutt (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista HS) finished the match with a .600 hitting percentage after tallying nine kills and no errors in 15 attack attempts. Junior Gaby Palmeri (Davis, Calif./St. Francis HS) was good for eight kills and freshman Nikki Lyons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) ended with six kills, 11 digs and three block assists as well.

The first set was evenly matched, with the score going from 5-5, to 10-10, 15-15 and eventually 20-20. The Waves and Toreros battled it out and after hitting the 26-26 score mark, San Diego took over the match and finished with a 28-26 victory.

In the second set, Pepperdine came out for redemption, tabbing a 10-5 lead early on. San Diego stayed in the battle, but the Waves prevailed throughout, maintaining a wealthy lead at 22-16 and then taking the set 25-21 to tie the match 1-1.

In the third set, the Toreros started by putting up a 7-4 lead, but Pepperdine was not to be derailed. The Waves evened the set 15-15 and then a long tenure for Wylie at the service line put the team at a 2-15 decision. Pepperdine outplayed San Diego, making a 10-5 run for the 25-20 triumph.

The match stayed just as close in the final two sets, with the fourth reaching an 18-18 standoff. San Diego battled to stay in the match and even things up 2-2 after earning a 25-21 final decision. In the final set, it was either team's win to earn, finding the set tied 13-13. A few choice kills, USD closed up the match with a 15-13 outcome for the win.

The loss drops the Waves to 1-1 in the WCC and 10-5 overall.

Next, Pepperdine returns home to Firestone Fieldhouse to compete against Saint Mary's College at 7 p.m. on Thursday (October 1).