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Pepperdine University Athletics

Meg Brown
Kyle Cajero
3
Winner Pepperdine PEP 16-3, 16-2 WCC
1
Santa Clara SCU 5-13, 5-13 WCC
Winner
Pepperdine PEP
16-3, 16-2 WCC
3
Final
1
Santa Clara SCU
5-13, 5-13 WCC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Pepperdine PEP 25 25 18 25 (3)
Santa Clara SCU 18 14 25 19 (1)

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

#20 Waves Hang Tough for 3-1 Win at Santa Clara

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — In the final regular season match of the season on Saturday afternoon, the #20 Pepperdine women's volleyball team hangs tough for a 3-1 victory over Santa Clara in the Leavey Center. 
 
Rachel Ahrens led the Waves with her sixth match hitting more than 15 kills with 19 smashes on the day.  In all 19 regular season matches, Ahrens hit for double-figures.  Shannon Scully amassed her 39th career double-double with 12 kills and 16 digs, while also putting in four blocks and assists and three aces.
 
The Waves won with 25-18, 25-14, 18-25 and 25-19 set scores and finish out the regular season with a 16-3 overall record and 16-2 record in the West Coast Conference. 
 
BIG WAVES
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 19 kills, 4 aces, 5 digs, 1 block
Isabel Zelaya (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS): 34 assists, 9 digs, 3 blocks
Madison Shields (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS): 15 digs, 7 assists, 1 ace
Shannon Scully (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS/Utah): 12 kills, 16 digs, 4 blocks, 4 assists, 3 aces
Meg Brown (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS): 7 kills, .400 hitting %, 4 blocks
Alli O'Harra (Boise, Idaho/Centennial HS): 2 blocks, 2 kills, 1 ace
Kayleigh Hames (Maryville, Tenn./Webb School of Knoxville): 7 kills, 14 digs
 
WAVES VS. BRONCOS
Pepperdine led the match with 49 kills on a .206 success rate, along with nine aces – seven of which were from two players.  Santa Clara was good for 43 kills on a .159 clip with four aces throughout.  SCU led with 10.5 blocks to the Waves 8.0, but Pepperdine had a match-high 61 digs to Santa Clara's 48 digs. 
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          15        5          39        .256
2          13        4          31        .290
3          11        8          34        .088
4          10        5          27        .185
TTL      49        22        131      .206
 
SANTA CLARA ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          12        4          41        .195
2          8          7          31        .032
3          15        2          33        .394
4          10        9          32        .031
TTL      43        22        132      .031
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Broncos came out with a 6-2 run to open the match, but the Waves slowly inched back throughout and tied the set 12-12 after a pair of Meg Brown smashes and an ace from Madison Shields.  Rachel Ahrens and Alli O'Harra put up a Malibu Roofing Company rejection to help the cause as each side went point-for-point towards an 18-18 tied score.  Late in the action, Ahrens and Kayleigh Hames put down a pair of kills and Shannon Scully ripped three aces down for a 25-18 set win.
 
With the lead heading into the second set, the Waves were able to battle through the opposition's early lead and tie the score at 8's.  With back-to-back blocks from Brown and Scully, along with a multitude of kills from Ahrens and Hames, Pepperdine pulled ahead 21-11.  Kills from Scully at the end of the set shut things down and earned the Waves a 25-14 set win and the 2-0 advantage heading into the third.
 
Though the Waves were in a position to close the set, Santa Clara was in a position to force a fourth.  The Broncos earned a 10-5 lead early on and though Pepperdine tried to close the gap, the home squad came away with a 25-18 set win.
 
In the fourth set, Pepperdine pulled ahead with kills from Ahrens and Scully and a Brown, Isabel Zelaya block collaboration.  After a big service effort from Ahrens including her third ace of the match, along with a Scully block solo, the Waves were looking ahead 14-7.  The Broncos closed the gap late in the set, coming within one-point 18-17, but a Rosie Ballo, Zelaya block effort, along with Ahrens' fourth ace of the night helped pu the Waves in a position to close.  At the end of the set, Ahrens and Brown each put one kill down for the 25-19 final set win and the 3-1 overall victory.
 
NCAA SELECTION SHOW
Sunday will host two big events this week, Easter and NCAA Selection Sunday for women's volleyball.  The NCAA Selection Show will air on ESPNU at 4 p.m. PT on Sunday, April 4.  You will be able to find links on NCAA.com.  This season, there will be a field of 48 teams, shortened from the usual 64-team bracket due to the worldwide pandemic.
 
The first round is Wednesday, April 14, and the second round will be April 15. Regional semifinals are Sunday, April 18, and the regional finals April 19. The national semifinals are Thursday, April 22, with the 2021 national championship on April 24. The tournament will be held at the Chi Health Center Arena in Omaha, Nebraska.
 
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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