MALIBU, Calif. — It was a quick one hour and 20-minute match against VCU for the #24 Pepperdine women's volleyball, as the Waves dominated the attack winning 25-23, 25-16 and 25-21 to improve the squad's overall record to 8-1 this season.
 
Pepperdine posted 52 kills, while allowing the opposition only 25 throughout the win.  Rachel Ahrens and Grace Chillingworth led the squad with 17 and 14 kills respectively, while Madison Shields was a mainstay on the back line with 18 digs.
 
The Waves will now enter West Coast Conference action, hitting the road to open things up with matches against San Francisco and Santa Clara on September 23 and 25. 
 
BIG WAVES
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 17 kills, 6 digs, 1 ace, 1 block
Grace Chillingworth (Tustin, Calif./Foothill HS): 14 kills, 1 block
Isabel Zelaya (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS): 44 assists, 9 digs, 1 block
Madison Shields (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS): 18 digs, 2 assists
Meg Brown (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS): 8 kills, 2 aces, 3 blocks (1 solo)
Kayla Joyce (Chico, Calif./Pleasant Valley HS/FRC/CSU Chico): 9 digs
Rosie Ballo (Dana Point, Calif./Dana Hills HS): 4 kills, .375 hitting %, 3 blocks
Emma Ammerman (Parker, Colo./Chaparral HS): 8 kills, 3 blocks, 3 digs
Trinity Stanger (Los Angeles, Calif./Viewpoint HS): 6 digs
 
WAVES VS. RAMS
Pepperdine led the floor with 52 smashes on a .258 hitting output, while allowing VCU only 25 kills on a .080 hitting percentage.  The Rams led 8.0-7.0 in blocks, while each side tallied three aces throughout.  The Waves led 56-46 in digs.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          19        8          42        .262
2          14        5          36        .250
3          19        6          50        .260
TTL      52        19        128      .258
 
VCU ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          11        4          31        .226
2          6          8          32        -.062
3          8          5          37        .081
TTL      25        17        100      .080
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
After falling behind 3-1 to open the match with three-consecutive blocks from the Rams, the Waves picked up some points with kills from Rachel Ahrens and Grace Chillingworth and a pair of back-to-back aces from Meg Brown to take over the lead.  It would be a lead Pepperdine would not relinquish throughout most of the match, continuing on to a 19-14 lead in the first set with kills from Brown and Rosie Ballo.  VCU brought the score within one at the 24-23 mark, but Pepperdine was able to close the set on a smash from Ahrens to take the lead.
 
The second set was Waves from start to finish as the home team posted kills, blocks and aces to pull ahead 6-4.  After a service error, Madison Shield took over and provided excellent serving support as she propelled the Waves on a 6-0 run featuring kills from Chillingworth and Emma Ammerman.  Another pair of blocks, first from Brown and Isabel Zelaya and then from Ballo and Ahrens helped the Waves to a 20-10 lead late in the action. Though the Rams were able to string a few points together at the end, a final smash by Chillingworth put the Waves ahead 25-16 en route the third set.
 
VCU made it interesting in the third, tying the score at 16's and even pulling ahead 19-18 at one point, but that thrill would be short-lived for the opposition.  Chilllingworth evened it up with a smash and continued ahead with another one.  Ahrens would be the Waves to close things out in the final moments, putting down a pair of kills to make it 25-21 and earn the home squad the sweep.
 
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.