SPOKANE, Wash. — As the defending West Coast Conference champions, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team knows it has a target on its back. The Waves will get every team's best shot, no matter what.
On Thursday night, the Waves fended off an upset-minded Gonzaga Bulldogs squad with a 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23) road win. Despite trailing 23-20 late in the fourth set, fifth-year senior Birdie Hendrickson sparked a 5-0 Pepperdine run to leave Spokane with a perfect record in conference play.
Both Grace Chillingworth (22 kills) and Kenadie Patterson (nine kills) tied their career-highs to help lead the Waves (6-7, 3-0 WCC) offense, while the aforementioned Hendrickson finished with 15 kills to prevent the Bulldogs (1-11, 0-2 WCC) from pulling an upset. The Waves' block was the difference throughout the match, as it had nine blocks to the Zags' five, plus Pepperdine took advantage of 10 Gonzaga service errors at opportune times to seal the win.
From the early goings, it was clear that Gonzaga wanted a repeat of 2022 when the Bulldogs upset the #22 Waves in five sets for the program's first win over a ranked opponent. In the first set, the Bulldogs took a 5-4 lead but sided out with a service error. In the blink of an eye, the Waves ripped off a 5-0 with Emma McMahon back behind the service line to take a 9-5 lead. Pepperdine didn't trail from that point forward: Aces from Trinity Stanger and Hendrickson, then a 4-0 run sparked by Riley Simpson gave the Waves a commanding 20-12 lead.
But in a sign of things to come, the Bulldogs made one more late push to make the score closer than it appeared. With Pepperdine up 22-13, Gonzaga went on a 6-1 run to try getting back into the set, but Chillingworth's sixth kill snapped the Zags' run and the Waves took advantage of unforced errors to wrap up the first set 25-19.
Just as they did in the first set, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead and took a 5-2 advantage off a service ace. However, a monster, nine-kill set from Chillingworth with several key swings down the stretch was the difference for the Waves, who posted 18 kills on a match-high .333 hitting percentage in the frame. Patterson's fourth kill of the night tied the score at nine, yet the Waves couldn't quite shake the Bulldogs. Gonzaga led for the majority of the second set, but the Waves managed to tie the score three times before the Zags took a 19-17 lead.
After a Simpson kill helped the Waves side out, back-to-back blocks from Chillingworth gave Pepperdine momentum, a 20-19 lead and forced the Bulldogs to regroup. Gonzaga would tie the score one final time at 21-all, then kills from Ella Piskorz and Chillingworth down the stretch helped the Waves steal the second set 25-22.
Unlike the previous two sets, Pepperdine led throughout the third set. In an auspicious start to the set, Rosemary Archer dealt an ace, then Patterson and Simpson helped Pepperdine go up 3-0. The Waves took a 6-1 lead to force a Bulldogs timeout, then the hosts regrouped to cut Pepperdine's lead to three.
However, Pepperdine was in the driver's seat until a 5-0 run from Gonzaga put the Bulldogs up 20-18. For a moment, Pepperdine's veteran pin-hitters answered the call. Chillingworth's eighteenth kill snapped the Zags' run, and then back-to-back kills from Hendrickson tied the score at 21. Unfortunately for Pepperdine, Gonzaga stole a set from the Waves with a late 4-1 run.
With 11 ties and four lead changes, the fourth set saw an invigorated Gonzaga side go toe-to-toe against the defending WCC champions. Ripping off a 5-0 run, the Zags took a 13-10 lead and looked poised to push the match to a fifth set.
But the Waves hung around. Gonzaga's 10th service error of the match tied the score at 18 and Patterson's ninth kill helped the Waves stop the Bulldogs from running away with the set, yet the hosts took a 23-20 lead in the fourth set. However, Piskorz's fourth kill of the night sent Chillingworth back to serve, who promptly dished out her second ace of the night. Hendrickson took over: first with a kill from Brynne McGhie, then with a big solo block, and finally with a match-ending swing that sealed the Waves' 25-23 fourth-set win.
NEXT UP
Pepperdine heads to Washington State for a nationally televised on ESPNU on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT. 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.
FOLLOW
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