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Pepperdine University Athletics

Meg Brown and Team
Mark Kuhlmann/NCAA Photos
2
Pepperdine PEP 17-4,16-2 WCC
3
Winner Baylor Baylor 20-6,13-3 Big 12
Pepperdine PEP
17-4,16-2 WCC
2
Final
3
Baylor Baylor
20-6,13-3 Big 12
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Pepperdine PEP 21 25 25 25 10 (2)
Baylor Baylor 25 22 17 27 15 (3)

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

Pepperdine Ends Season in NCAA Second Round after Five-Set Thriller

OMAHA, Neb. — It was a five-set thriller in Chi Health Center on Thursday morning for the Pepperdine women's volleyball team, eventually ending with a loss to #12 seed Baylor in the NCAA second round.  After dropping the first set 25-21, the Waves rallied to take the next two sets 25-22 and 25-17.  The Bears then came back with a 27-25 fourth set win, however, and worked towards a 15-10 set win to clinch the victory.
 
Senior Shannon Scully and junior Rachel Ahrens each hit milestones in the match, as Scully tabbed her 1000th and 1,001st career kill and Ahrens marked her 100th, 101st and 102nd career aces.  The pair finished with a team-high 19 kills, with Ahrens posting her fourth career double-double with 10 digs and five blocks as well.  Scully also added a pair of aces herself.
 
Sophomore Isabel Zelaya had a remarkable match for the squad as well, tabbing a career-best 62 assists and four aces, while dishing her squad to 69 kills on a .259 collective clip.  Senior Alli O'Harra and freshman Meg Brown also put in 11 kills apiece, along with five and four blocks respectively.
 
Pepperdine ends an amazing season with a 17-4 overall record.  The Waves went 16-2 in the West Coast Conference to finish 2nd in the league and reached the program's second NCAA second round match in the last three years and its 10th second round appearance overall.  Pepperdine has earned a berth in 24 NCAA Tournaments and now has a 19-24 (.442) overall record and winning percentage in the tournament.
 
BIG WAVES
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 19 kills, .256 hitting percentage, 10 digs, 5 blocks, 3 aces
Shannon Scully (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS/Utah): 19 kills, 2 aces, 6 digs
Isabel Zelaya (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS): 62 assists, 4 aces, 5 digs, 4 blocks, 2 kills
Alli O'Harra (Boise, Idaho/Centennial HS): 11 kills, .389 hitting %, 1 ace, 5 blocks
Meg Brown (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS): 11 kills, .350 hitting %, 4 blocks
Madison Shields (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS): 13 digs, 5 assists, 41 errorless serve receptions
Kayleigh Hames (Maryville, Tenn./Webb School of Knoxville): 7 kills, 5 digs, 1 block
Kayla Joyce (Chico, Calif./Pleasant Valley HS/FRC/CSU Chico): 5 digs
 
WAVES VS. BEARS
Pepperdine led 69 kills and 10 aces to Baylor's 60 kills and four aces throughout the match, but the Bears' .326 success rate surpassed the Waves' .259 hitting percentage.  BU was also able to post 18.0 blocks to Pepperdine's 9.5, but the Waves led 48-39 in digs and 68-57 in total assists.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          18        7          38        .289
2          13        2          26        .423
3          19        6          34        .382
4          13        9          29        .138
5          6          7          20        -.050
TTL      69        31        147      .259
 
BAYLOR ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          15        0          32        .469
2          14        5          24        .375
3          9          4          27        .185
4          15        6          32        .281
5          7          2          17        .294
TTL      60        17        132      .326
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Waves and Bears kicked off the match going point-for-point en route to a 6-6 tie.  Pepperdine then put a few kills from Kayleigh Hames and an ace from Isabel Zelaya together to earn a three-point advantage, but the Bears were close behind to close the gap at 10-apiece. Baylor then pulled ahead with a 6-0 run to lead 18-12.  The Waves closed the gap and came within two points with a 22-20 deficit, but the opposition was able to close the set out 25-21 to gain the first advantage of the match.
 
Pepperdine came out swinging in the second set, amassing a 7-3 lead with kills from Rachel Ahrens and an Isabel Zelaya ace to help the cause.   Though Baylor stayed close throughout, the Waves maintained the lead through the majority of the set with multiple kills from Hames and Alli O'Harra.  Ahrens put down her 100th career ace to extend the Waves lead to 16-12, but the Bears were close behind with kills of their own to tie things up at 19-apiece.  After a 20-20 tie, a third ace from Zelaya and a pair of kills from Ahrens gave the Waves the edge yet again, and Pepperdine would use that momentum to close the set 25-22.
 
The third set was all Waves from start-to-finish, with the Waves opening things on a 6-1 advantage with kills from Meg Brown and O'Harra in the middle.  More big kills from Shannon Scully and Brown late in the action helped the cause and an ace from Scully gave the Waves a 14-8 lead.  Baylor put a few points on the board, but an ace form Ahrens and more kills from Brown helped Pepperdine to a set-point opportunity.  Zelaya and Brown teamed up for the rejection and earned the Waves a 25-17 set win and the 2-1 lead heading into the fourth set.
 
The Waves trailed to open the fourth set and the Bears used the momentum to stay ahead almost the whole set, including an 18-12 advantage late.  Big kills from Ahrens and an ace from Zelaya helped close the gap and the Waves were eventually chasing one point 23-22.  Baylor tabbed the set point opportunity, but and an attack error from across the net and an ace from Ahrens tied the score at 24-24.  The two teams traded points, but the Bears then took the final two points to force a fifth.
 
In the decisive fifth set, the Waves came out to a 31 lead first with kills from Ahrens and Zelaya.  The opposition counted and pulled ahead 6-4, though Pepperdine was able to tie things up with another Ahrens kill followed by a Hames, O'Harra block collaboration.  After trading points to a 9-9 tie, the Bears gathered a few points to pull ahead and gain the edge.  Thought the Waves took a timeout to attempt to slow things down, Baylor went on a 5-0 run to close the set and win the match.
 
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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