MADISON, Wis. — Despite a late comeback attempt and third set win, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team was felled 3-1 by regional-host #6 Wisconsin at UW Field House to bow out of the NCAA Tournament in the second round on Friday night.  After 16-25, 12-25, 25-15 and 13-25 set scores, the Waves finished an inspirational postseason run with a 22-9 overall record and the best program finish since 2011.

Hannah Frohling and Shannon Scully led the Waves with 11-kills apiece, while Frohling added a team-high two aces.  Blossom Sato dished out a team-best 34 assists, while Hana Lishman was good for 18 digs.

This season marks the 23^rd appearance for Pepperdine in the NCAA Tournament. The second round appearance was the 9^th in program history, with the last being 2011.  Pepperdine thanks seniors Blossom Sato, Heidi Dyer, Jenna Tunnell and Nikki Lyons for the amazing and motivating legacy they will leave behind.

BIG WAVES
Hannah Frohling (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North HS): 11 kills, 2 aces, 1 block
Shannon Scully (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS/Utah): 11 kills, 9 digs
Tarah Wylie (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS): 8 kills, .368 hitting %, 4 digs, 4 blocks (1 solo)
Blossom Sato (Santa Monica, Calif./Santa Monica HS): 34 assists, 9 digs, 1 block
Hana Lishman (Kailua, Hawai'i/Punahou School): 18 digs, 3 assists
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 7 kills, 4 digs
Heidi Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS): 5 kills
Alli O'Harra (Boise, Idaho/Centennial HS): 3 kills
Madison Shields (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS): 6 digs
 
WAVES VS. BADGERS
Wisconsin led the court with 58 kills on a .338 success rate, compared to Pepperdine's 45 smashes on a .152 hitting percentage.  The Badgers led with 77 digs and 9.0 blocks to the Waves 54 digs and 4.0 team blocks.  Pepperdine led the court with three aces to the opposition's one.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          12         6          40         .150
2          6          5          41         .024
3          15         5          33         .303
4          12         6          37         .162
TTL       45         22         151       .152
 
WISCONSIN ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          16         3          34         .382
2          18         3          39         .385
3          6          6          27         .000
4          18         1          33         .515
TTL       58         14         133       .338
 
NOTABLES

• All-time, Wisconsin leads Pepperdine 4-1, dating back to the 1989 season when the Badgers won the first-ever matchup in straights sets on a neutral court.
• Shannon Scully has posted 14 double-doubles this season, leading the Waves, including her most recent in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Northern Iowa with 22-kills and 13-digs.  She posted an impressive career-best output against Pacific on November 3, 2018 with 26-kills and 20-digs.
• Hannah Frohling has hit for double-figure kills in 19 matches this season and 59 throughout her career. 
• Frohling is currently at the 1,069 kill-mark in her career, surpassing the 1,000-career kill mark against Hawai'i in Malibu on November 6, 2018.
• Hana Lishman has put up 23 double-figure dig matches this season, with four above 20-digs including tonight's match, and 70 in her career.
• Lishman has amassed 1,291 digs throughout her career thus far.  She leads the Waves with 3.85 digs/set and 427 digs this season.
• 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.  She averages 10.76 assists/set.
• On the season, Alli O'Harra leads the Waves with 1.09 blocks/set after amassing 113 total blocks with nine solo rejections. Tarah Wylie has marked 95 total blocks, including 11 solo rejections for 0.86 blocks/set.
• Alli O'Harra had led the Waves in blocks for 17-consecutive matches at one point earlier this season, including seven of them with seven blocks or more. 

 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Waves and Badgers opened the match exchanging points en route to a 4-4 tie featuring kills form Hannah Frohling and Shannon Scully.  After that, however, Wisconsin was able to pull ahead and although Pepperdine would bring the deficit within three points at one point, the home team closed the set with a 25-16 set win.
 
The second set would result similarly to the first, with the Waves and Badgers going point-for-point to open the action, but Wisconsin eventually closing down the Waves' offense with 28 digs and 4.0 team blocks in the set to win 25-12 and advance the lead to a 2-0 advantage.
 
Pepperdine showed grit in the third set despite opening with a 10-6 deficit to the Badgers early on.  Kills from Frohling and back-to-back blocks from Tarah Wylie tied the set at 11-11 and the Waves continued with the momentum en route to a 17-13 advantage.  Then, Frohling went to the service line.  A pair of aces later, some big offense and a block from Wylie and Rachel Ahrens extended the lead to 22-13.  Pepperdine used the energy of the 19-5 run in the end of the set to produce kills from Ahrens and Scully and win 25-15 to force a fourth.
 
The Waves and Badgers went point-for-point to open the fourth set yet again, but after an even 5-5 tied score, the home team put a run of four together to pull ahead.  After a 10-point deficit at 20-10, the Waves picked up a few consecutive points, but the atmosphere was on Wisconsin's side and the Badgers used it to finish the match with a 25-3 set win for the 3-1 victory.
 
2018 WAVES
The Waves finish the 2018 season with a 22-9 record and the program's best finish since 2011.  Pepperdine earned the program's 23^rd berth into the NCAA Tournament and ninth appearance in the tournament's second round.
 
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.