MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team came rolling out of the starting gate with big energy against #22 San Diego in Firestone Fieldhouse on Thursday night, winning in straight sets 25-19, 27-25 and 25-22 to upset the Toreros on the ESPNU-broadcasted West Coast Conference matchup.

The Waves (11-9, 7-2) snapped the Toreros (15-5, 8-1 WCC) 13-match winning streak, while also handing USD the team's first conference loss of the season with the victory.

Rachel Ahrens impressed with a tied career-high six aces in the match, while Hannah Frohling and Shannon Scully led the Waves with 12 and 10 kills respectively.

BIG WAVES
Hannah Frohling (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North HS): 12 kills, .294 hitting %, 2 blocks (1 solo), 1 ace
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 6 aces, 6 kills, 4 blocks (1 solo)
Shannon Scully (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS/Utah): 10 kills, .375 hitting %, 1 ace, 9 digs
Tarah Wylie (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS): 9 kills, .467 hitting %, 2 blocks (1 solo)
Hana Lishman (Kailua, Hawai'i/Punahou School): 8 digs
Isabel Zelaya (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS): 37 assists, 7 digs, 1 block, .309 team hitting %
Alli O'Harra (Boise, Idaho/Centennial HS): 4 blocks, 6 kills, .417 hitting %
 
WAVES VS. TOREROS
Eight service aces, compared to two from across the net, as well as 8.0 team blocks to the Toreros' 2.0 blocks, helped the Waves to the sweep.  Although San Diego posted 45 kills to Pepperdine's 44, the Waves .309 success rate surpassed USD's .279.  The Toreros also led with 48 digs to the Waves' 36.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          14        3          34        .314
2          16        2          36        .389
3          14        5          39        .231
TTL      44        10        110      .309
 
SAN DIEGO ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          11        4          31        .226
2          19        6          36        .361
3          15        6          37        .243
TTL      45        16        104      .279
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
After going down 2-0 to start the set, the Waves came rolling back to fight, tying up the match at 5-apiece.  Each side worked through a 12-12 tied score point-for-point, until Pepperdine brought Rachel Ahrens to the service line.  Four aces, a Tarah Wylie, Isabel Zelaya block collaboration and a big smash from Hannah Frohling later, and the Waves led the set 18-12.  It was a momentum the home team would be able to close the set on, with more kills from Shannon Scully and a final smash from Ahrens on the right side for a 25-19 set win to open the match.
 
The Toreros pulled ahead in the second set 10-7 early.  Although the Waves stayed close behind, the opposition led at the 19-15 mark.  Kills from Frohling and Ahrens helped the cause, and more kills from Frohling with a follow-up block from Wylie continued closing the gap for the home team en route to a 20-20 tied score.  The two teams traded point for a 22-22 tie, but the Waves pulled ahead by two with kills from Scully and an attack error from across the net.  After USD tied it up, each team traded points towards a 25-25 score, but the Waves would take the lead quickly.  Alli O'Harra and Ahrens collaborated on two back-to-back blocks to close the set with a 27-25 win to pull ahead by two on the night.
 
In the eventual final set of the day, the Waves came out swinging and ready to close.  After gathering a 7-3 lead to open, the opposition countered with a few points of their own, but the Waves were able to keep momentum and bust out to a 17-12 advantage with another ace from Ahrens and kills from Frohling.  US came within one at the 22-21 mark, but a few attack errors from across the net and a quick kill from Kayleigh Hames and the home team was in a position to close.  Ahrens stepped to the service line, and as she did throughout the entire night, laced her sixth and final ace towards USD to secure the 25-22 Waves' win and straight-set sweep of the 22^nd-ranked Toreros.
 
NEXT UP
On Saturday, the Waves will host #12 BYU in Firestone Fieldhouse at noon.  Bring you costumes, because the match will kick off spooky season by making this match the Halloween game.
 
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.