Pepperdine Splits Series with #12 BYU after Dropping Five-Set Thriller

Wednesday, February 24

Malibu, Calif.

7:00 p.m. PT

Pepperdine University

7-1, 7-1

BYU

8-1, 7-1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
BYU	24	25	19	25	15	3
Pepperdine	26	23	25	21	13	2

Photo by: Sarah Otteman

Pepperdine Splits Series with #12 BYU after Dropping Five-Set Thriller

2/24/2021 11:04:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Highlights

By: by Athletic Communications

MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team, a team receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll, took #12 BYU to the brink on Wednesday night in Firestone Fieldhouse, pulling ahead 2-1 before dropping the final two sets to suffer the team's first loss of the 2020-21 season. The Waves and Cougars split the series, as Pepperdine swept BYU the previous night.

Shannon Scully and Madison Shields garnered season and career-nights respectively. Scully posted her 33^rd double-double with 20 kills and 23 digs, both season highs. She also tabbed five blocks including a solo rejection and three aces for her team. Shields impressed with her first career over 30-dig match with 34 digs, which ties for 3^rd in the Pepperdine women's volleyball all-time record books for most digs in a single match.

Two other Waves hit for double-figure kills and two more marked double-digit digs in the match. Pepperdine drops its record to 7-1 overall and in conference action, while BYU advances to 8-1 overall and 7-1 in the WCC.

BIG WAVES
Shannon Scully (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS/Utah): 20 kills, 23 digs, 5 blocks, 3 aces
Madison Shields (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS): 34 digs, 3 assists
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 17 kills, 2 blocks 3 digs
Isabel Zelaya (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS): 52 assists, 5 blocks, 5 digs
Rosie Ballo (Dana Point, Calif./Dana Hills HS): 9 kills, .615 hitting %, 5 blocks
Meg Brown (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS): 11 kills, 5 blocks, 3 digs
Kayleigh Hames (Maryville, Tenn./Webb School of Knoxville): 11 digs
Kayla Joyce (Chico, Calif./Pleasant Valley HS/FRC/CSU Chico): 13 digs
Emma Ammerman (Parker, Colo./Chaparral HS): 4 kills, 2 blocks
Alli O'Harra (Boise, Idaho/Centennial HS): 3 blocks, 4 assists

HIGHLIGHTS

WAVES VS. COUGARS
Although Pepperdine posted 64 kills on a .181 success rate to BYU's 63 kills on a .183 clip, the Cougars eight aces to the Waves three gave them the small edge they would need for the win. Each side marked 14.0 team blocks, while the Waves led the match with 97 to 94 digs throughout.

PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          18        5          53        .245
2          11        5          36        .167
3          13        4          32        .281
4          14        9          52        .096
5          8          5          26        .115
TTL      64        28        199      .181

BYU ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          12        4          46        .174
2          18        7          46        .239
3          10        8          32        .062
4          15        5          44        .227
5          8          3          29        .172
TTL      63        27        197      .183

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Though the Waves struck first in the first set, the Cougars put together a strong serving presence and attack force to push towards an 11-6 advantage early on. Pepperdine started to inch back, however, and a 10-5 run tied things up at 16's. Each side exchanged points shortly after, seeing a 22-22 tied score and BYU taking the first advantage on a block. A kill from Rachel Ahrens tied it and a smash from Shannon Scully put the Waves ahead 24-23. The opposition battled the first set-point opportunity off, but an Emma Ammerman kill put the home team ahead once again. This time after a tough point battle, Scully would put down the kill and give the Waves a 26-24 first set win for the early overall lead.

The Cougars rallied in the second set, working ahead early to a 4-1 lead. Though the Waves tied things up at 16-apiece and went point-for-point to the 22-22 mark courtesy of blocks from Alli O'Harra, Meg Brown, Ammerman and Scully, the opposition was able to capitalize late and come away with a 25-23 set win to tied things up.

The third set was reminiscent of Tuesday night's match as the Waves busted out to a 7-2 lead with a strong service output from Scully, featuring kills from Scully and Ahrens and a pair of blocks from Rosie Ballo with either Ahrens or Isabel Zelaya. Another strong output with Scully at the service line late in the set had the Waves pull ahead 14-7 over the Cougars. After a 17-11 lead, the opposition was able to close the gap to within two-points, but the Waves would stay strong and an ace from Scully and multiple attack errors from across the net gave Pepperdine a 2-1 advantage with a 25-19 set win.

BYU once again came out to make it challenging for Pepperdine, working out to a 12-5 lead early in the fourth. The Waves came within two at the 17-15 mark and stayed close through a 23-21 disadvantage, but a pair of BYU kills closed the set 25-21.

As most five sets are, this one proved to be the most exciting of the night, with each side going quite literally point-for-point through 5-5, 10-10 and 13-13 tied scores. Two attack errors would seal the Waves' fate, though, as the Cougars clinched the 15-13 set win and five-set victory to take one away from Malibu.

NEXT UP
Next, Pepperdine will make the trip to Waco, Texas to play the squad's first non-conference opponent by facing #6 Baylor on Sunday, February 28. The match will be live streamed and have live stats available on www.PepperdineWaves.com.

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.