MALIBU, Calif. — Kicking off a critical stretch of West Coast Conference volleyball, the Pepperdine Waves appeared to be in postseason form with a dominant, 3-0 (27-25, 25-10, 25-18) sweep of Washington State.

The turning point for the Waves (11-8, 8-1 WCC) came late in the first set, as they trailed the Cougars (12-8, 7-4 WCC) 24-21, yet Pepperdine used a 6-1 run to steal the first set from Washington State, 27-25. From there, the Waves' offense could do no wrong in a 25-10 rout before finishing the sweep in the third set.

With a 9-1 record in WCC play, Pepperdine is half a game behind with LMU atop the league standings. They play each other in Malibu next Thursday in a pivotal match for the WCC title race.

As a team, Pepperdine recorded at least 16 kills in each set and hit an incredibly efficient .406 with 51 kills and just 12 errors. Grace Chillingworth's seven first-set kills set the tone in her 16-kill, nine-dig outing to lead the Waves. She and Riley Simpson (10 kills) were incredibly efficient, hitting .517 and .562, respectively. Birdie Hendrickson chipped in nine kills, 11 digs and a service ace, while Ella Piskorz tallied eight kills and four blocks. 

Both teams struggled to establish a rhythm in the first set until the Cougars used a 4-0 run — with three straight service aces from Italia Bernal — to tie the score at 10. While Chillingworth helped the Waves side out with her third kill of the set, Pepperdine's lead was short-lived. Washington State went on to take an 18-15 lead. Pepperdine appeared to break through with a 3-0 lead thanks to another Chillingworth kill, an ace from Trinity Stanger, and a swing from Simpson, yet Washington State's Katy Ryan helped the Cougars battle back and make the score 24-21.

Then in one backbreaking 6-1 run, Pepperdine effectively won the match.

Hendrickson saved the first set point with a kill, then Chillingworth pulled Pepperdine within one point. Kenadie Patterson and Hendrickson rejected a Ryan swing to tie the score at 24, but another Ryan kill forced a third set point. But Simpson had other ideas. The Baylor transfer notched two kills in the last three points to give Pepperdine a come-from-behind, 27-25 win.

Riding high from the first set, Pepperdine used an early 5-0 run to quickly double up Washington State, 8-4 and force a Cougar timeout. Simpson sparked another 5-0 run that featured two kills from her and Chillingworth, then an ace from Ella Irwin to make the score 13-5. Washington State recorded just three more kills from that point forward, while Pepperdine's offense could seemingly do no wrong down the stretch. Pepperdine closed out the set on a 9-2 run, which featured contributions from across the lineup. Rosemary Archer dealt consecutive service aces, while Chillingworth, Patterson and Simpson chipped in several kills en route to a 25-10 rout.

Pepperdine never trailed in the third set. While Washington State rebounded from its second-set struggles, the Waves benefited from five Piskorz kills in the final frame as the freshman middle blocker assumed a bigger role on offense. Clinging to a 12-11 lead with Stanger back to serve, Pepperdine used a 4-0 run to take a 16-11 lead and put the match out of reach for the Cougars. Piskorz's fifth and final kill of the set gave Pepperdine a seven-point advantage at 20-13, which the Waves maintained the rest of the way as they finished off the sweep.

NEXT UP

Pepperdine hosts PCH Cup rival LMU next Thursday at 6 p.m. Free cowboy hats will be given to the first 50 students in attendance. Tickets can be purchased for all remaining matches here.

FOLLOW

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.