MALIBU, Calif. — Capping off its penultimate homestand, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team swept San Francisco 3-0 (25-23, 25-19 25-18) in Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.
Unlike the first time that the two teams met, which required late heroics from Pepperdine to win in five sets, Saturday's match was a one-sided affair. Using a balanced offensive attack, the Waves (14-10, 11-3 West Coast Conference) saw four players finish with double-figure kills against the Dons (14-11, 7-6 WCC). The Waves hit over. 300 for the second straight match by posting a .301 hitting percentage, plus the Waves tallied 48 kills to the Dons' 31.
Once again, veteran pin hitters Birdie Hendrickson and Grace Chillingworth ended with a dozen kills piece, while Chloe Pravednikov finished with 11 kills of her own. Fellow freshman Ella Piskorz chipped in 10 kills and tied Kenadie Patterson with four total blocks to lead the team. Setter Rosemary Archer had a productive 42-assist, seven-dig and three-block stat line.
Looking to avenge their earlier loss to Pepperdine, San Francisco's block helped the Dons keep pace with Pepperdine in the first set. The Dons dug out of an early 3-0 hole and hung with the Waves in the first half of the set, which saw both teams struggle to hold serve and gain separation. But like she has done all season, Hendrickson's swings found the floor late in the set — all told, Hendrickson tallied six kills in the set, most of which were in the later stages.
Hendrickson broke an 18-18 tie with her fourth kill of the afternoon, which sparked a 3-0 Pepperdine run. Patterson gave the Waves a 21-19 lead, then an ace from Hendrickson and a kill from Chillingworth made the score 23-20 in favor of the Waves. Yet the Dons rattled off three straight points to tie the score at 23, forcing a Waves timeout. But a Dons error and an ace from Chillingworth on match point helped the Waves take the first set 25-23.
With 11 ties and five lead changes, the second set was closer than the final score would indicate. But fortunately for Pepperdine, Chillingworth came alive by tallying seven of her 12 kills in the second set alone. Neither team led by more than two points until Chillingworth sparked a mini, 3-0 run from Pepperdine to make the score 16-13. San Francisco momentarily stopped the Waves' run on the next point, but Chillingworth sparked another 3-0 run to put the Waves up 19-14. Pepperdine pulled away for good thanks to kills from Chillingworth and Patterson, plus a big block from Patterson and Archer prompted the Dons' bench to call timeout trailing 22-15. Three Chillingworth kills down the stretch helped the Waves take the first set 25-19.
Despite getting off to a slower start in the third set, the final frame was all Pepperdine thanks to a defensive resurgence. Both teams played close in the early goings before Pravednikov sparked a 5-0 run that put the Waves up 15-10 at the media timeout. Although both teams traded runs that resulted in the Dons pulling within one at 18-17, a Piskorz kill helped the Waves side out. Sparked by two service aces from Emma McMahon, Pepperdine went on a decisive, 6-0 run that brought about match point. A Hendrickson kill on the left side then capped off the sweep with a 25-18 third-set victory.
NEXT UP
Pepperdine heads to northern California one last time to face Saint Mary's and Pacific next week. Tickets can be purchased for all remaining matches here.
