#24 Pepperdine Sweeps Portland to Close Trip Up North

Box Score PORTLAND, Ore. — Junior rightside Rachel Ahrens' attack effort led the #24 Pepperdine women's volleyball team to a West Coast Conference victory on Saturday afternoon for the third match in a row as the Waves swept past Portland in Chiles Center.

Ahrens marked a match-high 13 kills, while Shannon Scully and Meg Brown each posted nine and eight kills respectively. The Waves advance to 11-2 overall and 11-1 in the WCC with the victory.

BIG WAVES
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 13 kills, .281 hitting %, 2 aces, 8 digs, 1 block
Shannon Scully (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS/Utah): 9 kills, .333 hitting %, 9 digs
Isabel Zelaya (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS): 31 assists, 9 digs, 2 blocks, 1 ace
Meg Brown (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS): 7 kills, .455 hitting %, 4 digs, 3 blocks
Alli O'Harra (Boise, Idaho/Centennial HS): 5 blocks, 4 kills, .375 hitting %, 1 ace
Emma Ammerman (Parker, Colo./Chaparral HS): 6 kills, 4 digs, 3 blocks
Madison Shields (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS): 12 digs, 3 assists
Kayla Joyce (Chico, Calif./Pleasant Valley HS/FRC/CSU Chico): 4 digs

WAVES VS. PILOTS
Pepperdine led for the second match in a row in nearly all areas of the game, commanding 41 smashes on a .276 success rate, while adding five aces and 55 digs. Portland posted 24 kills on a .078 output with 36 digs and four aces. Each side collected on eight team blocks throughout the match.

PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          12        6          32        .188
2          16        2          32        .438
3          12        4          31        .258
TTL      40        12        95        .295

PORTLAND ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          8          4          34        .118
2          7          5          34        .059
3          8          7          32        .031
TTL      23        16        100      .070

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Portland came out to the first lead of the match this afternoon, amassing a quick 5-1 lead to put Pepperdine on the defensive. The Waves countered with a 10-1 run of their own directly after to make it 11-6 with smashes from Rachel Ahrens, Alli O'Harra and a block collaboration from the same pair. The opposition tied things up at the 13-13 mark and each side then went point-for-point en route to a 15-15 tied score. Kills from Ahrens and O'Harra and a Lily Dyer service ace helped put the Waves ahead and back-to-back blocks from Meg Brown and Emma Ammerman put the set away 25-18.

Each team traded points to open the second set, but the Waves had the early two-point edge and would not relinquish it. After leading 11-10, the Waves went on a 7-1 run with kills from Ahrens and a block effort from O'Harra and Ammerman. With the comfortable lead, Pepperdine continued capitalizing towards a 25-14 win to head into the third looking to close.

The Waves were unwilling to give up a set today, busting out of the open of the third set to a 6-2 lead with the help of three consecutive blocks from O'Harra – one solo and two alongside Isabel Zelaya. An ace from O'Harra and more smashes from Ammerman and Kayleigh Hames put the Waves up 11-5 and the Waves quickly went on a 7-3 run to continue with the lead. In the back stretch of the set, and ace from Zelaya and kills from Scully and Ammerman shut the set down 25-19 to complete the sweep for Pepperdine.

NEXT UP
Next week, the Waves return to Firestone for Senior Day against PCH Cup rival LMU on Thursday, March 18 before making the short trip to the Lions' home court on Friday. The matches 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.

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Players Mentioned

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

#17 Lily Dyer: S; 5' 9"; 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

#21 Kayla Joyce: DS; 5' 6"; Sophomore; TR

Players Mentioned

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

#17 Lily Dyer
: 5' 9"; Junior
: S

#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

#21 Kayla Joyce
: 5' 6"; Sophomore; TR
: DS