IRVINE, Calif. — Despite leading the match in kills, Pepperdine succumbed to UC Irvine in four sets at the Bren Events Center on Wednesday night due to a strong defensive effort from across the net.  The Waves won the first set 25-21, but fell 22-25, 19-25 and 22-25 in the final three sets to drop the overall match.
 
Three players hit for double-figure kills and Hannah Frohling led with 17 kills, while each she and Blossom Sato amassed two aces in the match.  Rachel Ahrens picked up 15 kills and Shannon Scully finished with a double-double after picking up 10 kills and 11 digs.
 
BIG WAVES
Hannah Frohling (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North HS): 17 kills, .265 hitting %, 2 aces, 3 digs
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 15 kills, .243 hitting %, 1 ace, 4 digs
Shannon Scully (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS/Utah): 10 kills, 11 digs, 3 block assists
Blossom Sato (Santa Monica, Calif./Santa Monica HS): 46 assists, 7 digs, 2 aces
Tarah Wylie (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS): 5 kills, 4 digs, 3 block assists, 1 ace
Hana Lishman (Kailua, Hawai'i/Punahou School): 14 digs, 5 assists
Rosie Ballo (Dana Point, Calif./Dana Hills HS):6 kills, 2 block assists
Julia DiBona (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos HS/SMU):5 digs
Madison Shields (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS): 5 digs, 3 assists
 
WAVES VS. ANTEATERS
The Waves led the attack effort with 56 kills to the opposition's 48.  However, UCI's .220 hitting percentage to the Waves .194 and 14 blocks, 64 digs and eight aces to Pepperdine's 5.0 blocks, six aces and 55 digs resulted in an Anteater victory.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set          K             E             TA           Pct
1              15           5              42           .238
2              13           7              40           .150
3              13           8              38           .132
4              15           5              30           .250
TTL         56           25           160         .194
 
UC IRVINE ATTACK BY SET
Set          K             E             TA           Pct
1              10           7              36           .083
2              9              5              33           .121
3              13           5              30           .267
4              16           2              33           .424
TTL         48           19           132         .220
 
 
NOTABLES

• Pepperdine leads UC Irvine 13-3 all-time, dating back to 1976 season when Pepperdine won the first-ever matchup 2-0.
• Hana Lishman has put up seven double-figure dig matches this season, with one above 20-digs, and 54 in her career.
• Blossom Sato has led the Waves in assists in all matches this season including a career-high 59 in the home opener against Idaho. 
• Shannon Scully leads the team with 3.45 kills/set on a .264 attack effort.  She was the first Wave to hit the 100-kill mark this season.  She also leads with 13 aces this season, tabbing 0.45 aces/set.
• Tarah Wylie leads Pepperdine with 26 total blocks, including two solo rejections for 0.76 blocks/set and Alli O'Harra is also big time on the net with 0.74 blocks/set after amassing 20 blocks including two solos.

 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Each side went point-for-point to open the first set to the 5-5 mark before UCI went on a 4-0 run to take an advantage.  The Waves battled back and closed the gap with a 5-1 run of their own to make it 10-10.  After a 12-12 tie, Pepperdine pulled ahead to secure a two-point lead late in the action at 19-17.  A 20-20 tied score in the back stretch was no matter for the Waves, and four quick points including an ace from Blossom Sato and back-to-back rejections from Shannon Scully and Rosie Ballo and Scully and Tarah Wylie earned the Waves a 25-21 win to open.
 
In the second set, each team once again went point-for-point to a 21-21 tied score.  In the final moments, costly Waves' errors and an attack effort from across the net resulted in a 25-22 UCI win to tie the match.
 
The third set proved difficult for Pepperdine, as the opposition worked ahead to a 7-1 lead to start thing off.  With an 11-3 deficit, the Waves bounced back and worked with a 13-9 run to start to close the gap and look at 16-19 in the back end of the third.  Despite the valiant comeback attempt, Irvine finished the set with a 25-19 win to pull ahead 2-1 in the match.
 
Despite falling behind 12-6 to open the fourth set, the Waves rallied back late in the action to come within one 18-19 with a strong service output from Wylie and three-straight kills from Hannah Frohling.  Pepperdine was unable to overcome, however, as the Anteaters ended the match with a 25-22 final set win.
 
NEXT UP
Next, Pepperdine opens West Coast Conference action with a match against Portland on Thursday, September 20 on the road.  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.