Nov. 3, 2016 Final Stats
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team were downed by Portland in four sets this Thursday night in the Chiles Center for the Waves 13th West Coast Conference match of the 2016 campaign.
Portland picked up 25-23 and 25-21 wins in the first two sets before the Waves would mark the team's own 25-23 third set victory to start inching back. The Pilots were tough, however, and after a tough fourth-set battle closed out the match with a 25-22 win.
The Waves (10-15, 4-9 WCC) worked on a .134 hitting percentage with 61 kills on 201 swings, while adding 7.0 team blocks, one ace, 54 assists and an outstanding 104 digs. The Pilots (14-10, 7-5 WCC) were good for a .123 success rate with 49 kills, and added 47 assists, six aces, 95 digs and 14.0 team blocks against Pepperdine.
The Waves 104 digs ranks second all-time in the Pepperdine record books for most team digs in a single four-set match in the rally scoring era. The record is 109 which was tabbed at Hawai'i on September 25, 2004.
Three players hit for double-figure kills, four dug up double-figure digs and two had double-doubles towards the effort.
Sophomores Heidi Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) and Jenna Tunnell (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista HS) each picked up their eighth and fourth double-doubles respectively. Dyer posted a career-best 24 digs with 21 assists, while adding seven kills and three blocks. Tunnell was good for 22 assists and 15 digs, while adding nine kills and two blocks all night.
Freshman Hana Lishman (Kailua, Hawai'i/Punahou School) posted a career-best 23 digs, while adding a career-best eight assists for the Waves.
Freshman Hannah Frohling (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North HS) led the Waves with a tied career-high 16 kills on 50 swings. Sophomore Tarah Wylie (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS) and senior Gaby Palmeri (Davis, Calif./St. Francis HS) also hit for double-figure kills with 10 apiece. Wylie added a .231 success rate on the offensive and four blocks, while Palmeri posted five digs.
Freshman Jasmine Gross (Portland, Ore./Jesuit HS) added nine kills and eight digs throughout the match and freshman Jaiden Farr (Peterson, Utah/Morgan HS) was good for 11 digs.
Portland worked ahead to a 6-1 lead to start the first set, but the Waves then went on a 7-2 run to even the score 8-8. Shortly after, a strong service output from Farr, kills from Wylie, Dyer and Frohling and a rejection at the net by Wylie and Dyer and the Waves pulled ahead 15-10. The teams then exchanged points throughout the rest of the set, en route to a 22-22 tie. Kills from the Pilots gave the home team the edge over the Waves and Portland pulled off the 25-23 first set win to go up 1-0 on the night.
Then in the second set, the teams exchanged runs, with Dyer putting the Waves ahead with strong serves and five consecutive Pepperdine kills 6-2. Then some strong serves from across the net evened the score 6-6, but the Pilots didn't hold off there, as the team worked ahead 16-12. The Waves tried to battle back, but Portland maintained the edge and went up 2-0 with a 25-21 set two victory.
After falling behind 7-4 early in the third set, the Waves pulled back and tied things up 10-10. Pepperdine maintained the edge after gaining the lead and pulled forward with 18-14 and 23-19 advantages. Despite the Pilots attempt to close the gap, the Waves shut down the opposition with kills from Tunnell and Wylie for the 25-23 win.
In the fourth set, each team battled, but the Pilots had the edge early and the Waves found it hard to overcome. After tying the set 13-13, Pepperdine took a 16-15 advantage, but Portland worked back and pulled ahead 22-18 on an ace late in the set. Some last attempts to keep the match in action were put into play, but the home team once again shut the door and won the set 25-22 to take the four-set match victory.
Next, the Waves will continue the northern road trip with a showdown at Gonzaga at noon on Saturday, November 5. Find live stats and stream here: http://gowav.es/2bT5hVh. Follow the Waves on Facebook and Twitter @WavesVolleyball for immediate updates, recaps and more.
