MALIBU, Calif. — Despite a late third set comeback attempt, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team was downed by #12 BYU in Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon, falling with 25-21, 25-15 and 29-27 final set marks.

The Waves (11-10, 7-3 WCC) out-blocked the Cougars (18-3, 9-1 WCC), but were unable to overcome on the attack front, resulting in the West Coast Conference loss.

Rachel Ahrens led the squad with 10 kills on a .300 clip, while Tarah Wylie put up with five blocks including three solo rejections and Hana Lishman had a team-high three aces.

BIG WAVES
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 10 kills, .300 hitting %, 3 blocks (1 solo), 1 ace
Kayleigh Hames (Maryville, Tenn./Webb School of Knoxville): 7 kills, .385 hitting %
Hannah Frohling (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North HS): 6 kills, 2 blocks, 2 digs
Tarah Wylie (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS): 5 blocks (3 solos)
Hana Lishman (Kailua, Hawai'i/Punahou School): 7 digs, 3 aces
Shannon Scully (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS/Utah): 5 kills, 6 digs
Isabel Zelaya (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS): 26 assists, 8 digs, 1 kill
Alli O'Harra (Boise, Idaho/Centennial HS): 2 blocks
Madison Shields (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS): 5 digs
 
WAVES VS. COUGARS
Pepperdine led the court with 8.0 team blocks to BYU's 5.0 and each side possessed four aces apiece.  The Cougars' led in all other aspects of the match, however, totaling 53 kills on a. 333 clip with 40 digs, while the Waves posted 34 smashes on a .190 output with 30 digs.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          12        6          34        .176
2          7          4          26        .115
3          15        5          40        .250
TTL      34        15        100      .190
 
BYU ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          17        5          37        .324
2          18        5          32        .406
3          18        8          36        .278
TTL      53        18        105      .333
 


PLAY-BY-PLAY
Pepperdine had the early edge in the first set, amassing a quick 8-3 lead with kills from Rachel Ahrens, an ace from Hana Lishman and a solo rejection from Tarah Wylie.  The opposition was able to counter at 9-9, however, and take over the lead towards the 18-13 mark.  After the Waves closed the gap to a 20-22 deficit, the Cougars rattled through some points for a 25-21 set victory to open the match.
 
In the second set, each side worked out to a 7-7 tie before BYU started pulling away.  The Waves were unable to counter throughout and the Cougars amassed a 25-15 set win to put themselves in a position to shut things down.
 
The Waves would put in a solid fight, though, first pulling ahead 9-4 with kills from Shannon Scully and back-to-back blocks from Ahrens with either Wylie or Alli O'Harra.  BYU countered once again at the 13-13 mark, and each side traded points nearly point-for-point until the Waves took a 20-17 lead.  A kill from Hannah Frohling and an ace from Ahrens had the Waves up 22-18 and big errors from across the net helped the home team to a 24-20 advantage.  The Cougars should no letup, however, and tied the set at 25-apiece.  After the opposition battled off three set points and the Waves battled off one, BYU took the final advantage and laced a kill down on the court for the 29-27 set win and the 3-0 final score.
 
NEXT UP
Next week, the Waves are back on the road, challenging Gonzaga and Portland on October 31 and Nov. 2 in Spokane and Portland.
 
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.