Box Score MALIBU, Calif. — A 23^rd career double-double by Shannon Scully propelled the Pepperdine women's volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Portland in Firestone Fieldhouse on Thursday night.  The Waves picked up the early 25-23, 25-22 lead in the West Coast Conference matchup, before the Pilots forced a fourth with a 25-20 third set win.  Pepperdine sealed the deal with a staggering 25-14 final set finish for the team's third WCC victory of the season.

Along with Scully's 20 kill-18 dig double-double for the Waves (7-8, 3-1 WCC), Hannah Frohling posted 11 kills and Tarah Wylie led with eight blocks.

Prior to the match, Pepperdine University's newly-inaugurated President Jim Gash served a ceremonial first serve.  Pepperdine will be back in action on Saturday against Gonzaga in Firestone at noon.
 
BIG WAVES
Hannah Frohling (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North HS): 11 kills, 7 digs, 3 blocks, 1 ace
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 6 kill, 3 blocks
Shannon Scully (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS/Utah): 20 kills, .308 hitting %, 18 digs, 2 blocks
Tarah Wylie (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS): 8 blocks (1 solo), 9 kills, .261 hitting %, 1 ace, 7 digs
Tayah Mahi (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls HS): 18 assists, 2 kills, 1 ace
Hana Lishman (Kailua, Hawai'i/Punahou School): 17 digs, 1 ace
Isabel Zelaya (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS): 27 assists, 4 digs, 3 blocks (1 solo), 1 ace
Alli O'Harra (Boise, Idaho/Centennial HS): 4 kills, 1 block
Madison Shields (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS): 9 digs, 2 aces, 2 assists
Rosie Ballo (Dana Point, Calif./Dana Hills HS): 2 blocks
 


WAVES VS. PILOTS
Each team tallied 53 kills throughout the match, but the Waves had the edge with a .238 success rate on the attack compared to the Pilots .176.  Pepperdine also amassed 12.0 team blocks to Portland's 7.0 and seven to five aces.  The opposition led in digs with a 67-dig effort against the Waves' 66.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          16        4          40        .300
2          13        6          45        .156
3          15        5          38        .263
4          9          3          24        .250
TTL      53        18        147      .238
 
PORTLAND ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          14        5          33        .273
2          12        8          53        .075
3          17        3          39        .359
4          10        9          34        .029
TTL      53        25        159      .176
 


PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Waves came out with strong energy in the first set, but the Pilots were close throughout to counter, and each team went point-for-point towards 7-7 and 12-12 tied scores.  A pair of blocks from Isabel Zelaya, with one each accompanied by middles Tarah Wylie and Alli O'Harra helped Pepperdine pull ahead 17-13.  Pilots were not quick to let it go, however, and tied the score at 20-20.  After a 22-22 tie, kills from Alli O'Harra and Shannon Scully propelled the Waves to close the set 25-23. 
 
Pepperdine came out tough in the second set, rolling out to a 7-2 lead with a strong serving presence by Hana Lishman and a block from Wylie and Scully.  The opposition would eventually make it as close as the first, though, tying the score at 10's and exchanging points to a 19-19 tie.  Sneaky kills from Isabel Zelaya and three more from Scully put the Waves ahead and a final Rachel Ahrens smash put the set away 25-22 in the Waves' favor.
 
Portland picked up the first edge in the third set and used it to maintain the advantage throughout.  The Waves brought it within three, 19-16, but the Pilots were able to take the set win 25-20 to force a fourth.
 
The Waves weren't messing around in the fourth set, busting out of the opening with back-to-back blocks from Ahrens and Rosie Ballo en route to a 6-2 lead.  Big smashes from Scully helped the cause and kept the home team moving towards a 15-8 lead.  A Wylie, Ahrens block late in the set kept Pepperdine in front of Portland and back-to-back kills from Madison Shields, followed by a Wylie kill shut the set down 25-14 and resulted in the four-set Waves win.
 
NEXT UP
On Saturday, the Waves continue the West Coast Conference push with a 12 p.m. match against Gonzaga in Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
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.