Sept. 13, 2016 Final Stats
MALIBU, Calif. -- Despite working ahead with a first set win over 11th-ranked UCLA, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team were downed in the final three sets, resulting in a Bruins four-set victory. The Waves posted a 25-19 win in set one, but the opposition took 25-14, 26-24 and 25-18 set wins to secure the night's victory.
The Waves (6-4) led the match with 16.0 team blocks, including 28 block assists and two solos, while the Bruins (8-1) posted 10.0 team blocks with 16 assists and two solos. The Waves hit for a .076 hitting percentage with 36 kills, while the opposition tabbed a .198 success rate with 63 kills.
Sophomore Heidi Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) tabbed her second career double-double with 18 assists and a team-best 14 digs, while adding six kills and three block assists towards the effort. Fellow sophomore Nikki Lyons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) led the Waves with eight kills and also marked 13 digs and three blocks including one solo rejection.
Junior Ashley Harris (Petaluma, Calif./Casa Grande HS/Arizona) and freshman Jasmine Gross (Portland, Ore./Jesuit HS) led the team with eight blocks apiece, both Waves' career-high total. Harris had one solo and seven assists, while also posting five kills. Gross led the team with a .312 success rate on the offensive after putting up seven kills with only two errors in 16 swings.
Four players had double-figure digs. Along with Dyer and Lyons, sophomore Ashley Morgan (Anaheim Hills, Calif./Canyon HS) posted 13 digs and junior Maddie Dilfer (Saratoga, Calif./Valley Christian HS/Notre Dame) had 10.
Freshman Hana Lishman (Kailua, Hawai'i/Punahou School) led the team with two aces, both in the first service of set one, and added eight digs. Sophomore Tarah Wylie (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS) was good for six blocks, four kills and an ace and freshman Hannah Frohling (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North HS) added six kills, seven digs and two blocks.
Pepperdine came out strong in the first set, fueled by the 822 fans making noise in the stands. After starting the match with a 5-1 run, with thanks to Lishman who dished out two service aces, the Waves had the momentum. At the 8-5 mark, Pepperdine took off again, this time on a 9-4 run to put a 16-9 lead on the board. After four team blocks in the set, the Waves tabbed a 25-19 set win to gain the first advantage of the night.
The Bruins worked ahead to start the second set in an attempt to gain the edge early. The opposition began with a 10-3 lead that eventually turned into a 25-14 set win to tie the match 1-1.
The third set was any teams to take and the Waves and Bruins had a battle for the edge. The Waves worked ahead early, but the Bruins eventually tied the set 8-8. UCLA picked up a 16-13 lead, but a strong service output by Dyer including kills by Frohling and blocks from Harris and Gross and the Waves took over the set 18-16. The match went point-for-point after that, reaching the 23-23 mark, but the opposition seemed to have the momentum and after two set-point opportunities, tabbed the 26-24 win that would put the team up 2-1 on the night.
Pepperdine came out to fight in the fourth set, intent on extending the match to a fifth, but UCLA had other ideas. The Bruins posted a 11-4 lead early on and despite the Waves stringing some points together to close the gap to a three-point deficit at 15-18, the opposition closed the door and finished the night with a 25-18 victory.
Next, the Waves take a plane ride to Honolulu to challenge #15 Hawai'i on Friday and Saturday, September 16 and 17. Find live stats and stream here: http://gowav.es/2bT5hVh. Follow the Waves on Facebook and Twitter @WavesVolleyball for immediate updates, recaps and more.
