Final Stats

HIGHLIGHTS

MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team, fueled by 15 kills from Hannah Frohling and a double-double by Heidi Dyer, bested Santa Clara in four sets in Firestone Fieldhouse this Thursday night. The Waves posted 25-15, 20-25, 25-20 and 25-21 final set scores en route to the West Coast Conference victory.

Pepperdine (11-16, 5-9 WCC) finished the night with a .231 hitting percentage after posting 52 kills on 147 swings. The Waves also produced 12.0 team blocks, six aces, 77 digs and 44 assists for the victory. Santa Clara (14-12, 5-9 WCC) was good for a .131 success rate on the attack with 49 kills, while adding 5.0 team blocks, six aces, 70 digs and 43 assists in the match.

Freshman Frohling (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North HS) led the Waves with 15 kills on a .344 hitting percentage, and added three blocks and 12 successful service receptions. Sophomores Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) and Jenna Tunnell (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista HS) led the team with 20 and 19 assists respectively. Dyer tabbed her seventh double-double in assists and digs with 20 and 17 and added seven kills on a .250 attack output. Tunnell also picked up seven digs, two aces, three blocks and five kills in the effort.

Junior Ashley Morgan (Anaheim Hills, Calif./Canyon HS) was unstoppable in the back row, with 17 digs and two aces, while freshmen Hana Lishman (Kailua, Hawai'i/Punahou School) and Jaiden Farr (Peterson, Utah/Morgan HS) tabbed 14 and 12 digs respectively. Lishman added two aces as well.

Senior Gaby Palmeri (Davis, Calif./St. Francis HS), freshman Jasmine Gross (Portland, Ore./Jesuit HS) and sophomore Tarah Wylie (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS) also were impactful for the Waves. Palmeri tallied nine kills and five blocks including two solo rejections. Gross picked up nine kills with no errors on 19 attempts for a .474 hitting percentage and Wylie was solid at the net with six blocks and seven kills for the team.

In the first set, the Waves worked out to a commanding start as the home team posted a 6-0 run early on to amass a 13-5 lead. The Broncos were unable to come back and after another 4-0 run put Pepperdine up 21-9, the Waves had the momentum needed to shut the set down with a 25-15 mark. The home team posted a .273 hitting percentage in the first set, while allowing the Broncos only a .044 success rate on the offensive.

In the second set, both teams put up a point-for-point effort, exchanging leads through the 10-10, 15-15 and 20-20 marks before the Broncos took over the drive. The opposition posted two kills and an ace to secure the 25-20 mark to tie the match 1-1.

After a discussion with head coach Scott Wong at intermission, Pepperdine came out of the starting gate with solid energy. After going back-and-forth en route to a 9-9 tie in the middle fo the set, the home team worked ahead with a 9-4 run to go up 18-13. In the home stretch, kills from Palmeri, and Dyer and a solo rejection from Frohling sealed the deal and earned the Waves the 2-1 match lead with a 25-20 set victory.

The Waves came out tough in the fourth set, intent on shutting the game down. After a solid service output by Lishman, the Waves held a 10-7 advantage that the team would maintain and build upon. The Broncos came within a one-point differential at the 16-15 mark, but a communal block by Tunnell and Wylie and smashes back-to-back smashes by Frohling built a gap the opposition would be unable to overcome. The Waves finished off the fourth set with a 25-21 win to establish the 3-1 overall victory.

The Waves will be back in Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday as Pepperdine hosts San Francisco at 1 p.m. Find live stats and stream here: http://gowav.es/2bT5hVh. Follow the Waves on Facebook and Twitter @WavesVolleyball for immediate updates, recaps and more.