MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team came out ready to play on Saturday afternoon, drubbing West Coast Conference opponent Pacific at Firestone Fieldhouse in three sets, 25-15, 25-19, 25-20.
 
A Pepperdine victory was never in doubt, as the Waves (18-4, 10-3 WCC) held advantages throughout all three sets and only allowed the Tigers (11-14, 8-6 WCC) to reach 20 points once throughout the match.
 
Rachel Ahrens hit for double-figure kills for the 22nd time in as many matches this season, and 70 times throughout her career, while Madison Shields marked double-figure digs for the 20th time this season and 50th in her career. 
 
BIG WAVES
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 15 kills, 4 digs, 3 blocks, 1 ace
Grace Chillingworth (Tustin, Calif./Foothill HS): 9 kills, .389 hitting %, 3 digs, 2 blocks
Emma Ammerman (Parker, Colo./Chaparral HS): 10 kills, 1 block
Isabel Zelaya (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS): 30 assists, 7 digs, 2 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace
Madison Shields (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS): 18 digs, 2 assists, 1 ace
Rosie Ballo (Dana Point, Calif./Dana Hills HS): 5 blocks, 2 kills
Reagan Goeke (Clarkston, Mich./Lake Orion HS): 3 blocks, 2 digs, 1 ace
Trinity Stanger (Los Angeles, Calif./Viewpoint HS): 5 digs, 2 assists
Kayla Joyce (Chico, Calif./Pleasant Valley HS/FRC/CSU Chico): 5 digs


 
WAVES VS. TIGERS
The Waves hit at a .271 clip on 38 kills this afternoon, while holding the Tigers to just .109 on 31 kills. Pepperdine incurred only 12 attack errors throughout the duration of the match while forcing 20 on the opposition. Pepperdine led 45 to 40 in digs, 8.0 to 4.0 in blocks and four to two in aces to secure the conference victory.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set    K       E       TA     Pct
1       9       4       26      .192
2       16      4       43      .279
3       13      4       27      .333
TTL   38      12      96      .271
 
PACIFIC ATTACK BY SET
Set    K       E       TA     Pct
1       8       10      37      -.054
2       13      3       36      .278
3       10      7       28      .107
TTL   31      20      101    .109
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Waves rattled off the first three points of the match, highlighted by a Rosie Ballo and Emma Ammerman block. After Pacific put three in a row on the board to make it 5-4 Pepperdine, a smash by Rachel Ahrens and another Ballo block would give the Waves a three-point cushion once again. After the teams would trade points, an attack error on the Tigers gave Pepperdine a 12-7 lead. Ahrens continued her solid set with a kill to make it 14-8, giving way to a Pacific timeout. The lead then opened up to 18-9 in favor of the Waves after a Ballo and Ahrens block, forcing another timeout. Pacific scored three of the next four to cut the lead to 19-12, but the run ended thanks to an ace by Madison Shields. Pepperdine closed out the set on a Pacific attack error to win the set by 10.
 
The teams were neck-and-neck in the second set, as it was 5-5 through the first 10 points. After a Pepperdine attack error, Pacific claimed the 8-5 lead. The set was tight to the midway point, but a kill by Ahrens knotted things up at 14. After another Waves kill, the home team then took a 16-15 lead, prompting a Tiger timeout. Shortly after, Pepperdine would force another timeout after a service error, growing the lead to 19-16. The run grew to 4-0 after a blocking error by Pacific, giving Pepperdine a 21-16 lead. The set was closed out by an Ammerman kill, earning the Waves a 25-19 set two win and a 2-0 set lead.
 
The third set was close early on, but Pepperdine had the 5-4 advantage. A Grace Chillingworth kill gave the Waves the first two-point lead of the set at 7-5, which was followed up by an Isabel Zelaya ace for the three-point margin. The lead would balloon to 11-6, the biggest of the set for the Waves, before the first timeout of the third for Pacific. Zelaya's kill gave the Waves a six point advantage at 17-11, however, the Tigers were not quick to go away. A late 3-0 run cut the Waves' lead to 19-16. Following a Pepperdine timeout, the home team would stem the tide with a UOP attack error. Still, Pacific went on another 3-0 run to make it a one-point game, prompting the second Pepperdine timeout of the set. Ammerman registered a kill to give Pepperdine a two-point cushion heading into the home stretch, and an attack error by the Tigers made it 22-19 Waves. Pepperdine finished the sweep on an Ahrens ace, winning the set 25-20.
 
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.