Waves Sweep Past UMBC in NCAA First Round

Box Score OMAHA, Neb. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team opened the NCAA Championships with an impressive sweep over first round opponent UMBC in the Chi Health Center on Wednesday morning.

This was the first NCAA Tournament win for the Waves since the 2018 campaign when Pepperdine defeated Northern Iowa 3-1 in the opening round. It's also the first time the Waves swept an opponent in the tournament since the 2011 campaign, when Pepperdine accomplished the feat in the first four tournament matches en route to an Elite Eight appearance.

The Waves won the first two sets with a commanding 25-7 first set victory and 25-22 second set win, though the third set proved to be closer throughout. In the final moments of the third after a 22-22 tied score, Rachel Ahrens and Meg Brown connected for a Malibu Roofing Company rejection to pull ahead, but UMBC was close behind with a pair of back-to-back points to gain the 24-23 lead and have a set point opportunity. A kill from Brown tied things up and an attack error from across the net earned the Waves a 25-24 lead and a match-point opportunity of their own. Senior Shannon Scully delivered the final point to win the match 3-0 for the Waves.

Ahrens led the Waves with her 20^th double-figure kill match of the season after tabbing 15 smashes, while also marking nine digs. Scully put in her 40^th career double-double with 13 kills on a .387 clip and 13 digs and Brown was good for nine kills on a .500 clip.

The Waves (17-3) advance to the second round to play #12 seed Baylor at 9 a.m. PT on Thursday, April 15. The match will stream live on ESPN3. Pepperdine and the Bears faced earlier this season, pushing to five sets with Baylor taking the eventual win in Waco.

BIG WAVES
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 15 kills, 1 ace, 9 digs, 1 block
Isabel Zelaya (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS): 41 assists, 4 digs, 1 ace, 2 blocks
Madison Shields (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS): 14 digs, 1 ace
Shannon Scully (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS/Utah): 13 kills, .387 hitting %, 13 digs, 1 ace
Meg Brown (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS): 9 kills, .500 hitting %, 4 blocks (1 solo), 3 digs, 3 assists
Alli O'Harra (Boise, Idaho/Centennial HS): 5 kills, .625 hitting %, 1 ace, 2 blocks, 3 digs
Kayleigh Hames (Maryville, Tenn./Webb School of Knoxville): 5 kills, 2 blocks

WAVES VS. RETRIEVERS
The Waves came out to stun the Retrievers with a powerful .526 hitting percentage with 15 kills on 38 errorless swings, while allowing the opposition only 3 kills on a -103 in the first set. Pepperdine continued a strong attacking presence throughout the match, finishing with 47 kills on a .308 clip, while giving up 30 kills on a .112 output. The Waves also led with six aces, 49 digs and six team blocks, compared to UMBC's 42 digs, two team blocks and no aces.

PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          15        0          38        .536
2          17        5          39        .308
3          15        9          40        .150
TTL      47        14        107      .308

UMBC ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          3          6          29        -.103
2          16        5          43        .256
3          11        7          35        .114
TTL      30        18        107      .112

SCOTT WONG INTERVIEW
SHANNON SCULLY INTERVIEW

PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Waves came out and owned the first set, quickly amassing a 7-2 lead with multiple kills from each Rachel Ahrens and Meg Brown. More kills from Ahrens and Alli O'Harra, fueled by a .536 hitting percentage with 15 kills on 38 errorless swings. The Waves quickly amassed a 20-6 advantage with the help of a block effort from O'Harra and Kayleigh Hames. Pepperdine kept pushing and an ace from Aubrey Roberts and final smash from Ahrens closed the set with a powerful 25-7 Waves' win.

Pepperdine came out with an early advantage in the second set as well, amassing a 7-4 lead after smashes from Hames and Ahrens and an O'Harra ace. The strong attack continued and kills from Hames put the Waves at 14-11 heading in to the back half of the set. Madison Shields put in a strong serving presence to help set the tone and a block from O'Harra and Isabel Zelaya put things at 20-16. After a challenge late in the set in the Retrievers' favor, things slowed down a bit, but the Waves were able to finish the set 25-22 for the 2-0 match lead.

The third set was the closest by far, with the Waves and Retrievers going point-for-point through much of the action. Kills from Ahrens and Scully along the way helped the effort and eventually each side was looking at a 22-22 tied score. After the battle late in the set, the Waves came away with the 3-0 sweep for victory.

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

#3 Aubrey Roberts: DS; 5' 10"; Sophomore

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

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

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

#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

#3 Aubrey Roberts
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: DS

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

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

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

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