Pepperdine Impresses with Season-Opening Sweep over San Francisco

Box Score MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team had something to prove on Tuesday night as the Waves hit the court at Firestone Fieldhouse for the first time in a year and some months, sweeping past West Coast Conference opponent San Francisco in the season opener. The squad picked up the win after commanding the floor with 25-12, 25-21 and 25-20 set scores.

Junior Rachel Ahrens opened the season by tying her career-high six blocks and leading the Waves with 10 smashes. Sophomore setter Isabel Zelaya picked up her first double-double of the season with 33 assists and 15 digs. Madison Shields impressed on the back line with 18 digs in her first outing donning the libero jersey and Alli O'Harra led the block with eight rejections.

BIG WAVES
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 10 kills, 7 digs, 6 blocks, 1 ace
Shannon Scully (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS/Utah): 8 kills, 12 digs, 4 blocks
Isabel Zelaya (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS): 33 assists, 15 digs
Alli O'Harra (Boise, Idaho/Centennial HS): 8 blocks, 4 kills, .375 hitting %
Madison Shields (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS): 18 digs, 2 assists
Kayleigh Hames (Maryville, Tenn./Webb School of Knoxville): 5 kills, 3 digs, 1 block, 1 ace
Meg Brown (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS): 8 kills, 4 blocks

WAVES VS. DONS
Pepperdine was unstoppable at the net, out-blocking San Francisco 12.0-3.0 and posting 58 digs to the opposition's 55. Though kill efforts were close, the Waves 39 kills on a .245 clip surpassed the Dons 31 smashes on a .066 output. Lastly, Pepperdine impressed with three aces and not a single error in serve receive with 47 successful serve receptions, while the Dons faulted three times in serve receptions and did not amass a single ace.

HIGHLIGHTS

PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          13        1          30        .400
2          13        4          36        .250
3          13        7          44        .136
TTL      39        12        110      .245

SAN FRANCISCO ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          7          9          36        -.056
2          13        9          42        .095
3          11        5          44        .136
TTL      31        23        122      .066

INTERVIEWS

PLAY-BY-PLAY
It had been over a year and some months since the Waves have faced an opponent across the net, and the squad came out ready to play, quickly pulling ahead 6-0 behind the serving efforts of Shannon Scully. Pepperdine continued to be effective on the attack with multiple kills from Scully, while Rachel Ahrens, Alli O'Harra and Meg Brown remained too big at the net for the Dons to get past, eventually pulling ahead 10-points with a 17-7 lead late in the action. Brown didn't only hold her own on the block, however, her quick arm speed and fast approach had the Dons on their heels as she put down a pair of kills en route to a 25-12 first set victory.

San Francisco huddled up and came ready to play after the first set, though, answering the Waves attack effort with some well-placed kills of their own. After a 13-13 tied score, costly errors from USF helped Pepperdine's momentum, as the Waves edged to a 20-16 lead with kills from Scully, Ahrens and O'Harra. Kayleigh Hames and Brown came together late in the set for a block, fueling the home team's energy and Brown and Scully shut things down with a Malibu Roofing Company rejection to close the set 25-21.

In the third and final set, Pepperdine came out strong with a Hames ace and back-to-back kills from Brown. Multiple smashes from Hames and Emma Ammerman continued to keep the Dons subdued as the Waves rolled to a 17-12 lead down the back stretch. Each side traded points until O'Harra and Scully combined for yet another Waves' block and despite a USF timeout to attempt to cool the home team down, Pepperdine was able to capitalize and finish the match off with a Scully, Brown block to end the night 25-20 in the set.

NEXT UP
Pepperdine will face off with USF in a sequel tomorrow, January 27 at 6 p.m. The match will be live streamed with WaveCasts.

HOME ATTENDANCE
Per the current COVID-19 guidelines set by the state of California and Los Angeles County, fans will not be permitted to attend home games in Firestone Fieldhouse.

FOLLOW
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.

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Players Mentioned

#18 Rachel Ahrens: OH/OPP; 6' 4"; Junior

#4 Kayleigh Hames: OH; 6' 0"; Sophomore; HS

#7 Alli O'Harra: MB; 6' 3"; Senior

#10 Shannon Scully: OH; 6' 2"; Senior

#6 Madison Shields: L; 5' 7"; Junior

#2 Isabel Zelaya: S/OPP; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#11 Emma Ammerman: OH/OPP; 6' 3"; Freshman; HS

#12 Meg Brown: MB; 6' 3"; Freshman; HS

Players Mentioned

#18 Rachel Ahrens
: 6' 4"; Junior
: OH/OPP

#4 Kayleigh Hames
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; HS
: OH

#7 Alli O'Harra
: 6' 3"; Senior
: MB

#10 Shannon Scully
: 6' 2"; Senior
: OH

#6 Madison Shields
: 5' 7"; Junior
: L

#2 Isabel Zelaya
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: S/OPP

#11 Emma Ammerman
: 6' 3"; Freshman; HS
: OH/OPP

#12 Meg Brown
: 6' 3"; Freshman; HS
: MB