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Pepperdine University Athletics

Team
Sarah Otteman
2
Gonzaga GON 3-9, 3-9
3
Winner Pepperdine PEP 9-2, 9-1
Gonzaga GON
3-9, 3-9
2
Final
3
Pepperdine PEP
9-2, 9-1
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Gonzaga GON 14 19 25 25 5 (2)
Pepperdine PEP 25 25 22 20 15 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | by Athletic Communications

Ahrens' Career-High Kill Effort Drives #25 Pepperdine to Five-Set Defeat of Zags

MALIBU, Calif. — Junior right-side Rachel Ahrens came out swinging on Saturday afternoon, posting a career-high 27 kills to drive the #25 Pepperdine women's volleyball team to a five-set defeat of West Coast Conference opponent Gonzaga in Firestone Fieldhouse. 
 
After Pepperdine (9-2, 9-1 WCC) won the first two sets 25-14 and 25-19, the opposition rallied to force a fifth with 25-22 and 25-20 wins in sets three and four.  The Waves came out in the fifth set unfazed, however, rolling to a quick 7-1 lead with Madison Shields at the service line and four-consecutive kills from Ahrens.  Though the Zags (3-9, 3-9 WCC) collected a few points in the set, more kills from Ahrens and additional smashes from Shannon Scully and Emma Ammerman closed the set 15-5 for the 3-2 Waves' win.
 
Isabel Zelaya dished out a season-high 54 assists en route to a .291 collective hitting percentage for the Waves, while adding 10 digs for her 12th career double-double.  Scully tabbed her 34th career double-double with 15 kills and 15 digs and Ammerman finished with 12 kills on a .348 clip.
 
BIG WAVES
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 27 kills, .358 hitting %, 5 digs, 2 blocks, 1 ace
Shannon Scully (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS/Utah): 15 kills, 15 digs, 3 assists
Isabel Zelaya (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS): 54 assists, 10 digs, 5 blocks, 2 kills
Madison Shields (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS): 14 digs, 3 assists
Meg Brown (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS): 7 kills, 3 blocks 1 ace
Emma Ammerman (Parker, Colo./Chaparral HS): 12 kills, .348 hitting %, 3 blocks
Alli O'Harra (Boise, Idaho/Centennial HS): 7 blocks (1 solo), 1 ace, 2 kills, 3 assists
Kayla Joyce (Chico, Calif./Pleasant Valley HS/FRC/CSU Chico): 8 digs
 


WAVES VS. BULLDOGS
Pepperdine came out swinging for .379 and .303 hitting percentages in the first two sets, and though dropped to below .226 in the next two sets, a .706 success rate in the fifth helped push the Waves to the win.  The opposition only hit above .300 in the third set and hit below .100 in three of the fourth for a .155 output on the day.
 
The Waves were good for 66 kills on a .291 collective success rate, while tabbing three aces.  The opposition posted 55 kills and two aces.  Pepperdine led 11.0 to 9.0 in blocks and 62 to 55 in digs.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          14        3          29        .379
2          16        6          33        .303
3          11        4          31        .226
4          13        9          41        .098
5          12        0          17        .706
TTL      66        22        151      .291
 
GONZAGA ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          10        10        33        .000
2          9          6          32        .094
3          18        7          34        .324
4          14        5          35        .257
5          4          3          21        .048
TTL      55        31        155      .291
 


PLAY-BY-PLAY
Pepperdine and Gonzaga stayed close for the first points of the match for a 3-3 tie, but the Waves quickly went on a 4-0 run with back-to-back kills from Emma Ammerman and an Ammerman, Alli O'Harra block collaboration.  The home squad used that fuel to amass a 14-7 lead with more blocks, this time from Meg Brown and Isabel Zelaya.  Though the Zags came withing three at 15-12, Pepperdine buckled down with Madison Shields at the service line, capitalizing on Bulldogs' errors and ending with a final pair of kills from Zelaya and Ammerman for the 25-14 first set win.
 
The Waves once again busted out of the starting gate with a 4-1 run to open the action and continued rolling to a 7-5 advantage with multiple blocks from Ahrens, Brown and O'Harra, Zelaya.  The opposition stayed close to the 10-8 mark, but Pepperdine posted 7-4 run to pull ahead yet again with kills from Ahrens and a well-placed tip from Zelaya.  After building the comfortable lead, Scully marked a pair of kills to shut the set down with a 25-19 win for the home team.
 
The third set would be a different story from the previous five sets and after a 10-10 tie, the Zags would break ahead 17-13.  It would be a lead the Waves would be unable to overcome, though tying the set at 20's, a few kills from Gonzaga closed things down 25-22 and forced a fourth set.
 
The fourth set continued in the Bulldogs favor as they would hold the lead from the first point.  Though the Waves stayed close, the opposition was able to outhit the home team en route to a 25-20 fourth set score to force the fifth.
 
The Waves then came out swinging, hitting a .706 with 12 kills and no errors on 17 swings to win the fifth set.
 
NEXT UP
Next week, Pepperdine will make the trip up North to take on Portland in a pair of matches on March 12 and 13.  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.
 
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