MALIBU, Calif. — It was a sweeping victory for the Pepperdine women's volleyball in Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon, as the Waves collected 25-20, 25-15 and 25-19 set scores over Saint Mary's to advance the team's West Coast Conference record to 6-1 this season. 
 
The Waves have also posted a 12-5 overall record to go with their impressive league output in the season's best WCC start since 2011.  Saint Mary's has gone 11-5 overall and 3-3 in the WCC.  The Waves currently rank 2^nd in the conference this week.
 
BIG WAVES
Hannah Frohling (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North HS): 12 kills, .360 hitting %, 1 ace, 2 digs
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 11 kills, 1 ace, 7 digs, 2 blocks
Shannon Scully (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS/Utah): 9 kills, 2 aces, 9 digs, 2 blocks
Tarah Wylie (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS): 9 kills, .750 hitting %, 3 aces, 2 digs 1 block
Alli O'Harra (Boise, Idaho/Centennial HS): 7 kills, .455 hitting %, 4 blocks
Blossom Sato (Santa Monica, Calif./Santa Monica HS): 43 assists, 1 ace, 1 kills, 8 digs, 1 blocks
Hana Lishman (Kailua, Hawai'i/Punahou School): 7 digs, 2 assists
 
WAVES VS. GAELS
The Waves dominated on the offensive against the Gaels, posting 49 kills on a .327 hitting percentage with eight aces compared to the opposition's 29 kills on a .217 hitting percentage and one ace throughout. Saint Mary's led the match with 6.0 team blocks to Pepperdine's 5.0, but 36 digs from the Waves' back row surpassed the Gaels' 23. 
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set          K             E             TA           Pct
1              20           5              33           .455
2              16           2              29           .483
3              13           10           36           .083
TTL         49           17           98           .327
 
PACIFIC ATTACK BY SET
Set          K             E             TA           Pct
1              12           2              25           .400
2              11           5              33           .182
3              6              4              25           .080
TTL         29           11           83           .217
 
NOTABLES

• Pepperdine leads Saint Mary's 47-15 all-time dating back to 1987 when the Waves won 3-0 on the road.
• With a .750 hitting percentage after posting nine kills with no errors on 12 attempts, Tarah Wylie reached a new career-high success rate.
• Alli O'Harra had led the Waves in blocks for the last six-consecutive matches, including four of them with seven blocks or more. 
• Hannah Frohling has hit for double-figure kills in 10 matches this season and 50 throughout her career.  She leads the team with 3.36 kill/set and 26 aces overall.
• Rachel Ahrens has posted nine matches with double-figure kills this season and has led the Waves' attack in six.
• Hana Lishman has put up 11 double-figure dig matches this season, with two above 20-digs including today, and 59 in her career.
• Blossom Sato has led the Waves in assists in all but one match this season including a career-high 59 in the home opener against Idaho. 
• Shannon Scully has posted seven double-doubles this season, leading the Waves.
• On the season, Alli O'Harra leads the Waves with 1.18 blocks/set after amassing 60 total blocks with five solo rejections. Tarah Wylie has marked 49 total blocks, including three solo rejections for 0.84 blocks/set.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Waves came out strong in the first set, and although each side went point-for-point throughout much of the beginning, Pepperdine held at least a one-point lead.  With a pair of service aces from Shannon Scully and big attacks from Alli O'Harra, the Wavespulled ahead 15-13 late in the action.  A block from Tarah Wylie and Rachel Ahrens started the Malibu Roofing Company efforts and Ahrens and O'Harra continued the roll towards a 19-15 advantage.  Kills from Hannah Frohling in the final moments of the action deterred the Gaels comeback attempt and Pepperdine went ahead in the match with a 25-20 first set win
 
After coming back from a small deficit in the second set, the Waves went on to own the court with a .483 set-attack effort.  After a 7-7 tied score, a block from Blossom Sato and O'Harra set Pepperdine off on a 7-0 run and kills from Frohling helped the cause to a 17-10 Waves' lead.  Another block from O'Harra and Shannon Scully late in the set put the Waves going in the right direction and a final pair of smashes from Ahrens and Scully shut the set down with a 25-15 Waves' win and put the home team ahead 2-0 going into the third set.
 
In the third and final set, Pepperdine set the tone from the beginning after amassing a 4-0 run courtesy of the serving prowess of Frohling, including an ace.  The Waves continued to roll with kills from Ahrens and Frohling en route to a 10-6 lead.  More smashes from Scully and Wylie late in the action helped Pepperdine to maintain a 17-12 lead.  Although the opposition once again tried to inch back in towards the final moments of the set, the Waves stayed resilient and a final rejection from Scully and O'Harra completed the sweep with a 25-19 final set score.
 


NEXT UP
The Waves remain at home next Saturday as they host PCH Cup rivals Loyola Marymount at noon in Firestone Fieldhouse.  Follow the Waves on Facebook and Twitter, @WavesVolleyball, and follow the team on Instagram, @peppvolley.  Get all the most recent schedules, results and more on www.PepperdineWaves.com.