HONOLULU, Hawai'i — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team faced off with UCLA to open the OUTRIGGER Volleyball Challenge in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Thursday night, dropping a tough five-set bout after playing out 20-25, 25-21, 25-21, 21-25 and 10-15 sets. 
 
Pepperdine (1-5) was led against UCLA (5-1) by Grace Chillingworth with 17 kills for her 39^th career match in double-digits and her fifth of the season.  Isabel Zelaya marked her 25^th career double-double and first of the season with 42 assists and 13 digs, while Riley Patterson was good for 15 digs to secure her 31^st match in double-digit digs.  Laine Briggs also tallied a career-high 12 digs, which is good for her first-ever double-figure dig match.
 
The Waves will continue things against the tournament-host, #23 Hawai'i, on Friday at 10 p.m. PT.  The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
BIG WAVES
Grace Chillingworth (Tustin, Calif./Foothill HS): 17 kills, 2 aces, 4 digs
Meg Brown (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS): 10 kills, .300 hitting %, 3 aces, 7 digs, 4 blocks (2 solos)
Isabel Zelaya (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS): 42 assists, 13 digs
Birdie Hendrickson (Rogersville, Mo./Logan-Rogersville HS/Florida): 8 kills, 4 digs
Riley Patterson (Sonora, Calif./Sonora HS/Pacific): 15 digs, 6 assists
Laine Briggs (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS): 12 digs
Emily Hellmuth (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park HS): 6 kills, 6 blocks
Vanessa Polk (Saint Louis, Mo./John Burroughs HS): 5 blocks, 4 kills
Trinity Stanger (Los Angeles, Calif./Viewpoint HS): 7 digs, 1 ace
 
WAVES VS. BRUINS
Pepperdine led defensively throughout the night, posting 11.5 blocks to UCLA's 10.0, along with a 65-57 dig ratio.  The Waves also lead marginally with six aces to the opposition's five, but the Bruins seemed to have the edge on the attack front.  UCLA posted 68 kills on a .299 hitting percentage, while Pepperdine closed up shop with 53 kills on a .185 clip. 
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          12        6          37        .162
2          13        5          31        .258
3          12        2          31        .323
4          9          9          30        .000
5          7          3          22        .182
TTL      53        25        151      .185
 
UCLA ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          13        0          35        .371
2          15        6          35        .257
3          16        6          37        .270
4          13        6          34        .206
5          11        1          23        .435
TTL      68        19        164      .299
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Waves got out to a hot 4-0 start with a pair of kills from each Grace Chillingworth and Meg Brown, though the Bruins answered shortly after to tie the set at 7's.  The energy seemed to be with Pepperdine through the majority of the set, however, as the Waves were always the first to pull ahead and back-to-back kills from Birdie Hendrickson gave the squad a three-point advantage 14-11.  UCLA wasn't quick to roll over, though, and eventually went on a 3-0 run to tie the set before pulling ahead by four at the 20-16 mark.  The opposition used the lead to win 25-20 and take the first true lead of the match.
 
Pepperdine rallied in the second set though, building another strong 4-1 lead on the back of smashes from Chillingworth and Hendrickson, as well as a block collaboration from Emily Hellmuth and Kenadie Patterson.  The Bruins tied the set at 14-all, but a kill from K. Patterson and Avery Shimaitis put the squad ahead yet again.  After an 18-18 tied score late in the set, the Waves went on a 4-0 scoring run with kills from Chillingworth and Brown to help the cause.  A solo block from Brown gave Pepperdine the opportunity to close the set and the Waves capitalized on a serving error from across the net for a 25-21 set win to tie the overall.
 
The third set was tight throughout as well, with the opposition snagging the first lead before an ace from Trinity Stanger and block from Chillingworth and Brown would push the Waves up by one, 6-5. The two teams went point-for-point en route to an 11-11 tie before more smashes from Chillingworth and Hellmuth gave the team a three-point lead.  UCLA was able to tie the score again at 15's, but after another 17-17 tie, a kill from Chillingworth and ace from Brown once again found Pepperdine leading 20-17.  The Waves would hold on to the end as well and a block from Vanessa Polk and Hellmuth would end the set 25-21 and earn Pepperdine the 2-1 lead.
 
It was there in the fourth set that the momentum took a turn, however, and the Bruins used an early 10-0 run to make it 13-4.  A huge effort from the Waves including kills from Shimaitis and Brown, an ace from Chillingworth and a block collaboration from Isabel Zelaya and Polk brought the squad within two, 23-21.  UCLA was able to close the set down, though, and forced a fifth with a 25-21 set score.
 
In the winner-takes-all fifth set, each side reached a 4-4 tie early.  UCLA pulled ahead by three at the 8-5 mark and though a block from Polk, Shimaitis and Hellmuth helped the cause, it would be a deficit Pepperdine would not be able to overcome.  Eventually, the opposition won the set 15-10 to take the victory.
 
FOLLOW
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