MALIBU, Calif.  — Capping off the week with another West Coast Conference win, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-16) win over Portland in Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.

The Waves (9-8, 6-1 WCC) put together a dominant offensive performance against Pilots (10-8, 3-5 WCC). Pepperdine out-hit Portland by posting a season-best .416 hitting percentage with 45 kills while the Waves dealt out 10 service aces, four of which came courtesy of Grace Chillingworth, who also had 13 kills. Birdie Hendrickson recorded half of her match-high 16 kills in the first set alone, plus Riley Simpson added six kills and Ella Piskorz chipped in four kills and a match-high six blocks. Rosemary Archer dished out 34 assists while tying her career-high with four total blocks for the second-straight match.

Portland played Pepperdine close in the first set, which ended up being the closest of the afternoon. While the Pilots rattled off a 4-0 run to take a 7-5 lead, the Waves responded with a 4-0 run of their own thanks to consecutive kills from Hendrickson and Chillingworth's first ace of the afternoon. Portland would come back to take a 15-13 lead at the media timeout, yet that lead was short-lived. Chillingworth's kill helped Pepperdine side out, then Emma McMahon's ace tied the score before the Waves took a decisive 17-15 lead. The Waves never trailed from that point forward; they won the last three points of the frame to win the first set 25-21.

Pepperdine's offense found its rhythm early in the second set and the team posted a match-high .500 hitting percentage with 14 kills. Simpson sparked an early 4-0 run that gave the Waves the lead, then another 4-0 run with McMahon back to serve quickly put Pepperdine ahead 10-4. The Waves' offensive attack was balanced thanks to Piskorz, who notched a pair of kills in Pepperdine's lead-claiming run. Throughout the set, Pepperdine pieced together a slew of runs and the Waves eventually led by as many as 11 with a Hendrickson ace that forced Portland to call timeout. Although the Pilots sided out and won the next point to make the score 20-11, Chillingworth sparked a 4-0 run that made the score look even more lopsided in favor of the Waves. Eventually, Piskorz's third kill of the set capped off the 25-12 second-set win.

The Waves never trailed in the third set. With the score tied 5-5, Pepperdine sided out and sent Chillingworth back to serve. From there, the reigning WCC Player of the Year dealt back-to-back aces to double up the Pilots 10-5, then she notched yet another ace that put Pepperdine up 12-5. Everything went the Waves' way from that point forward: A slew of kills from Kenadie Patterson and Hendrickson helped the Waves extend their lead to double-digits and eventually sweep the Pilots 25-16.

Saturday's sweep was the second for the Waves this season in the first in WCC play. As of press time, the Waves remain tied atop the WCC standings with Washington State — Pepperdine's next home opponent on Nov. 2.

 

NEXT UP

Pepperdine heads to the Bay Area to face San Francisco and Santa Clara next week. Season tickets are now available for all fall sports, including women's volleyball. Additionally, Pepperdine is offering a Fall All-Sport Pass, which grants admission to all fall home sports including women's soccer, women's volleyball and men's water polo — a $525 retail value for just $150. Learn more and access those exclusive season ticket offers here: gowav.es/peppszntix2425.

 

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Follow the Waves on Facebook and X, @WavesVolleyball, and follow the team on Instagram, @peppvolley. Get all the most recent schedules, results and more on www.PepperdineWaves.com.