MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team opened the Texas A&M Invitational with a three-set loss to tournament-host Texas A&M on Thursday night in Reed Arena.  The Waves were unable to comeback from a first set loss and fell 25-20, 25-18 and 25-22.
 
BIG WAVES
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 7 kills, 3 digs
Shannon Scully (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS/Utah): 5 kills, 2 aces, 3 digs, 1 block
Hannah Frohling (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North HS): 5 kills, 1 ace, 4 digs, 2 blocks (1 solo)
Alli O'Harra (Boise, Idaho/Centennial HS): 4 kills, 2 aces
Blossom Sato (Santa Monica, Calif./Santa Monica HS): 21 assists, 4 kills, 3 digs, 1 ace
Hana Lishman (Kailua, Hawai'i/Punahou School): 9 digs, 1 ace
Tarah Wylie (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS): 5 kills, 2 digs
Madison Shields (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS): 5 digs
 
WAVES VS. AGGIES
Pepperdine amassed a .069 hitting percentage throughout the match after totaling 30 kills on 101 swings.  The opposition put down 35 kills on a .227 success rate.  The Aggies also led with 32 assists, eight aces, 40 digs and 7.0 team blocks, compared to Pepperdine's 27 assists, seven aces, 32 digs and 3.0 team blocks.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set          K             E             TA           Pct
1              10           8              34           .059
2              8              8              40           .000
3              12           7              27           .185
TTL         30           23           101         .069
 
TEXAS A&M ATTACK BY SET
Set          K             E             TA           Pct
1              12           5              25           .280
2              12           6              35           .171
3              11           4              28           .250
TTL         35           15           88           .227
 
NOTABLES

• Pepperdine holds a 5-3 all-time record over A&M, dating back to 1977.
• Alli O'Harra's two aces tied her career best effort.
• Hana Lishman has put up five double-figure dig matches this season, with one above 20-digs, and 52 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.  She ranks second nationally in assists/set currently. 
• Sato's four kills match her career-high kill mark.

 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Pepperdine started off the match with a pair of aces from Alli O'Harra, working towards a 6-4 lead overall before the Aggies countered to tie the score.  Each side went point-for-point en route to the 15-15 mark before the opposition would take a lead they would not relinquish.  After a tough bout, TAMU took the first set 25-20. 
 
In the second set, each side worked through 5-5, 10-10 and 15-15 tied scores before the opposition took the lead.  The Waves put up a good fight, but eventually fell 25-18 to head into the third down 2-0.
 
In the third set, the Waves once again started off with a big showing after kills from Tarah Wylie and Shannon Scully put Pepperdine ahead 4-0.  After a 7-3 lead from the Waves, however, the opposition closed the gap and the teams looked at a 14-14 tied score.  Despite a solid effort from Pepperdine, the Aggies worked ahead towards a 21-15 lead that turned into a 25-22 final score. 
 
NEXT UP
Tomorrow, the Waves will close out the Texas A&M Invitational with matches against Missouri State and Nicholls State at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. PT.  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.