STOCKTON, Calif. — For the second straight match, a freshman stepped up for the Pepperdine women's volleyball team to help lead the Waves to a 3-1 (25-16, 25-22, 20-25, 25-18) road victory over the Pacific Tigers on Saturday.

This time, Chloe Pravednikov was the heroine with a career-high 19 kills on a .341 hitting percentage to lead all players and lead the Waves (16-10, 13-3 West Coast Conference) to their fourth-consecutive win. Grace Chillingworth chipped in a 14-kill, 13-dig double-double with four service aces, while fellow senior Birdie Hendrickson notched eight kills and a career-high 22 digs for Pepperdine. Middle blockers Kenadie Patterson and freshman Ella Piskorz — who carried the team on Thursday with her career-high 15 kills — added five kills apiece.

Saturday's result helped the Waves — who were 50th in the latest NCAA RPI rankings — keep pace in the WCC title race. With LMU's loss Thursday, the Waves are one game behind the Lions with two matches remaining. The Tigers (17-12, 7-10 WCC) couldn't pull back-to-back upset wins after their victory against LMU on Thursday and are now seventh in the league standings.

Pepperdine never trailed in the first set, bolting out to a 5-1 lead after winning several long rallies against the Tigers. Bolstered by five kills from Chillingworth in the first set, the Waves quickly doubled up the Tigers 14-7 off a Rosemary Archer ace, then another service ace from Trinity Stanger made the score 18-9. The Waves led by as many as 11 with Chillingworth's final kill of the set at 22-11, then a swing from Hendrickson on set point gave Pepperdine a 25-16 first-set victory.

The second set was more of the same from Pepperdine, which never trailed and benefitted from a seven-kill frame from Pravednikov, who set the tone early with consecutive kills early in the set. With the Tigers clawing back into the match trailing 14-13, the Waves sided out on the first of two consecutive kills from Pravednikov, who had an answer for seemingly every Pacific rally. Although the Tigers saved two set points, the Pepperdine freshman came through on match point to help the Waves take set two, 25-22.

Pacific put together one solid set in the third, hitting a match-best .417 with 17 kills in their wire-to-wire victory. Pepperdine had its chances to turn the tide: While trailing 7-4, a Chillingworth kill and back-to-back aces from the reigning WCC Offensive Player of the Week helped Pepperdine keep pace. However, a 3-0 run midway through the set gave Pacific a 15-10 lead, which was just enough to keep Pepperdine at arm's length. A service error and kills from Patterson and Pravednikov nearly sparked a late Waves' rally to pull within three, 23-20, yet Pacific senior Abby Miller notched consecutive kills to put the Tigers on the board with a 25-20 third-set win.

Both teams played close in the fourth set until two kills from Pravednikov in a 4-1 run gave Pepperdine a 13-9 lead midway through the frame. Although the Tigers pulled within one, a Piskorz kill helped the Waves side out, and then an ace from the freshman forced a Pacific timeout with the Waves up 16-12. Pacific went on one more 4-0 run to tie the score at 17, yet the Waves ended the set on an 8-1 run capped off by a Chillingworth solo block on set point to cap off the four-set victory.

 

NEXT UP

Pepperdine returns to Malibu for the final week of the regular season against San Diego and Oregon State, starting with a Wednesday night match against the Toreros at noon. Tickets can be purchased for all remaining matches here.