#23 Women's Volleyball Sweeps Past USF to Open League Action

Box Score SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The #23 Pepperdine women's volleyball team began West Coast Conference play at San Francisco on Thursday night, and the Waves made quick work of the Dons after defeating them 25-13, 25-20 and 25-13.

With the win, Pepperdine advanced the season's record to 9-1 overall and 1-0 in league action.

Isabel Zelaya led the Waves offensive, dishing out 33 assists en route to a collective team .356 success rate. Rachel Ahrens had a team-high 16 kills on a .452 hitting percentage and Kayla Joyce amassed a team-best 10 digs and two aces.

BIG WAVES
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 16 kills, .452 hitting %, 5 digs, 1 block
Grace Chillingworth (Tustin, Calif./Foothill HS): 7 kills, .385 hitting %
Isabel Zelaya (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS): 33 assists, 3 blocks, 3 digs, 1 ace, 3 kills, .750 hitting %
Madison Shields (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS): 6 digs
Kayla Joyce (Chico, Calif./Pleasant Valley HS/FRC/CSU Chico): 10 digs, 2 ace, 2 assists
Rosie Ballo (Dana Point, Calif./Dana Hills HS): 3 blocks, 2 kills
Meg Brown (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS): 6 kills, .455 hitting %, 4 blocks, 3 digs, 1 ace
Emma Ammerman (Parker, Colo./Chaparral HS): 5 kills, 2 blocks
Trinity Stanger (Los Angeles, Calif./Viewpoint HS): 8 digs

WAVES VS. DONS
Pepperdine dominated the attack front against San Francisco, posting 42 kills on a .356 hitting percentage, while the opposition put up 22 kills on a .047 clip. The Waves added four aces, 38 digs and 8.0 team blocks and the Dons were able to add three aces, 30 digs and 4.0 team blocks.

PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          13        5          27        .296
2          13        2          30        .367
3          16        4          30        .400
TTL      42        11        87        .356

SAN FRANCISCO ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          5          9          30        -.133
2          12        5          31        .226
3          5          4          24        .042
TTL      22        18        85        .047

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Pepperdine opened the first match of West Coast Conference action with a 7-0 run against San Francisco. Multiple kills from Rachel Ahrens and an ace from Meg Brown continued the Waves on to a 12-2 advantage, one the squad used to pull ahead even further 17-5. More smashes by Grace Chillingworth later in the set kept the Waves moving on and a final pair of points including a block collaboration from Rosie Ballo and Isabel Zelaya followed by a kill from Ahrens finished things up 25-13 in the Waves favor.

Pepperdine used the momentum from the first set to pick up an early lead in the second, with Ahrens putting down kills to put her team ahead 10-5. Though the opposition closed the gap to two, 17-15, late in the action, the Waves were able to shut the door with more smashes from Chillingworth and a block connection from Brown and Ahrens for the 25-20 set victory.

After a closer second set, Pepperdine came out ready to close the door in the third, amassing an 8-1 lead with back-to-back kills from Ahrens. Isabel Zelaya got in on the attack action at that point to extend the Waves lead and more smashes from Emma Ammerman and Reagan Goeke pushed the squad to a 20-9 advantage. In the final moments, Goeke and Ballo would find the floor to close the set 25-13.

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; 6' 4"; Senior

#11 Emma Ammerman: OH/OPP; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#9 Rosie Ballo: MB; 6' 4"; Senior

#12 Meg Brown: MB; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#21 Kayla Joyce: DS; 5' 6"; Junior

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

#2 Isabel Zelaya: S; 6' 0"; Junior

#1 Grace Chillingworth: OH/OPP; 6' 3"; Freshman

#7 Reagan Goeke: MB; 6' 2"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#18 Rachel Ahrens
: 6' 4"; Senior
: OH

#11 Emma Ammerman
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: OH/OPP

#9 Rosie Ballo
: 6' 4"; Senior
: MB

#12 Meg Brown
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: MB

#21 Kayla Joyce
: 5' 6"; Junior
: DS

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

#2 Isabel Zelaya
: 6' 0"; Junior
: S

#1 Grace Chillingworth
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: OH/OPP

#7 Reagan Goeke
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: MB