Box Score SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara made it interesting in the Leavey Center on Saturday afternoon, pulling ahead 2-0 over the #23 Pepperdine women's volleyball team before the Waves were able to get in a groove.  Showing grit throughout the season, the Waves were up to the task, collecting 25-21 and 25-23 set wins to force a fifth – a fifth that would be won 15-13. 
 
After coming back late in the fourth to gain momentum into the fifth, the Waves jumped out to a 3-0 start to the set.  Things were tied at 8's when the Broncos pulled ahead 10-13.  The Waves had a timeout and then started to climb back in, posting a kill from Meg Brown and a pair of smashes from Rachel Ahrens.  At 13's, the Broncos picked up a kill, but Head Coach Scott Wong though differently, challenging the play which resulted in an overturn and score flip to 14-13 in the Waves favor.  Pepperdine stayed calm and the opposition fumbled a set to close the match with a 15-13 Waves' win to complete the sweep.
 
Ahrens amassed a new career-high with 28 kills, while marking her sixth career double-double with 10 digs as well.  Madison Shields was instrumental in the back row with a season-high 22 digs and a career-best 10 assists.  Isabel Zelaya earned 49 assists as she dished the Waves to 71 kills on a .244 success rate.

With the win, the Waves improve to 10-1 overall and 2-0 in the West Coast Conference.
 
BIG WAVES
Rachel Ahrens (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS): 28 kills, 10 digs, 4 blocks, 1 ace
Grace Chillingworth (Tustin, Calif./Foothill HS): 12 kills
Isabel Zelaya (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS): 49 assists, 9 digs, 1 block
Madison Shields (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS): 22 digs, 10 assists, 1 ace
Kayla Joyce (Chico, Calif./Pleasant Valley HS/FRC/CSU Chico): 7 digs
Rosie Ballo (Dana Point, Calif./Dana Hills HS): 3 blocks, 4 kills, .571 hitting %
Meg Brown (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS): 14 kills, .345 hitting %, 2 blocks, 1 ace
Emma Ammerman (Parker, Colo./Chaparral HS): 7 kills, 2 digs, 1 block
Trinity Stanger (Los Angeles, Calif./Viewpoint HS): 7 digs
Reagan Goeke (Clarkston, Mich./Lake Orion HS): 5 kills, .400 hitting %, 2 blocks
 
WAVES VS. BRONCOS
Pepperdine led with an impressive 71 kills, as opposed to Santa Clara's 60.  Though SCU led 16.5 to 7.0 in blocks and 10 to 3 in aces, each side posted 59 digs in the effort.  Ultimately more kills with a .244 success rate from the Waves trumped the Broncos' .232 output.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          12        5          36        .194
2          15        7          34        .235
3          20        6          45        .311
4          15        5          36        .278
5          9          5          25        .160
TTL      71        28        176      .244
 
SANTA CLARA ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          16        8          38        .211
2          16        4          28        .429
3          10        3          31        .226
4          11        7          33        .121
5          7          3          21        .190
TTL      60        25        151      .232
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Waves struck first with back-to-back kills from Grace Chillingworth, but the Broncos came back to lead 11-6.  Pepperdine tied things up at 16's and each side exchanged points to the 19-19 mark, but Santa Clara once again took an edge and pulled ahead en route to a 25-21 lead.
 
The second set was close throughout, with the Waves pulling ahead 6-4 with kills from Rachel Ahrens and Meg Brown.  After 8-8, 16-16 and 21-21 tied scores, the Broncos put a pair of kills down to pull ahead.  The Waves broke a set point opportunity with an ace from Ahrens and had to fight off two more, but the Broncos were able to pull ahead and close the door with a 27-25 win for a 2-0 leading heading into the third.
 
The third set was Pepperdine's from start to finish.  After the Waves pulled ahead 15-5 with multiple kills from Ahrens, including four-consecutive smashes, the Waves just kept pounding down.  Through the Broncos came back within five at the 23-17 mark, Pepperdine saw smashes from Ahrens and closed it down 25-21 to extend the match into a fourth set.
 
Santa Clara was ready to close the door in the fourth and stayed ahead throughout most of the set, with 10-8 and 19-17 leads heading into the final moments of the action.  After tying the score 22-22, a service ace from Madison Shields put the Waves ahead and put the Broncos on their heels.  SCU picked up another point, but Pepperdine capitalized on an attack error from across the net and a smash from Chillingworth to win it and force a fifth.
 
The Waves went on to win, coming back from the 13-11 deficit to win 15-13.
 
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.