MALIBU, Calif. — Kicking off its challenging stretch of four matches in five days, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team hung with the second-ranked Stanford Cardinal, but fell 3-1 (18-25, 25-22, 17-25, 21-25) on Thursday night.
The Waves (1-4) took the second set from the Cardinal (6-0) and nearly mounted a comeback late in the fourth, yet the No. 2 team in the nation prevailed for its sixth-straight win. Individually, Grace Chillingworth led Pepperdine with 17 kills and a trio of service aces, while Birdie Hendrickson added 14 kills and nine digs of her own. Rosemary Archer and Brynne McGhie split playmaking duties with 21 and 20 assists, respectively.
Stanford flexed its muscles in the opening set as the Cardinal got out to an early four-point lead and led from wire-to-wire. A kill from Hendrickson pulled the Waves within two, 9-7, yet a 3-0 Cardinal run prompted the Waves' sideline to call timeout. Kenadie Patterson's first kill of the night after an ace from Hendrickson helped pull the Waves made the score 13-11, however, Stanford pulled away with a decisive 6-1 run to take the first set 25-18.
Pepperdine got a lift in the second set and put together its best statistical performance to even the score at one set apiece. As a team, the Waves hit .344 — their best single-set mark of the night — thanks to the emergence of freshman Ella Piskorz on offense. The freshman from Canada had four of her five kills in the second set alone; her first kill of the set at 7-3 kickstarted a 3-0 Waves run, which featured back-to-back service aces from Chillingworth to help Pepperdine pull within one. Fellow freshman Chloe Pravednikov chipped in with a kill, plus a block with Piskorz before Piskorz's third kill of the frame gave Pepperdine a 13-12 lead.
From there, the Waves didn't look back. Pepperdine led by as many as four points, then withstood a late Stanford run before freshman Maggie Beauer's swing on match point capped off the Waves' 25-22 second-set win.
Featuring 10 ties and just one lead change, the third set saw both teams play close until a late Stanford run helped the Cardinal overcome struggles behind the service line. A service error from Stanford tied the match at 12, yet back-to-back kills from Ipar Kurt put the Cardinal in front. Another service error gave Pepperdine a chance to take back the lead trailing 14-13 but three consecutive kills from Kurt put the visitors in front for good.
Playing with their backs against the wall, the Waves relied on Chillingworth's six kills in the fourth set to try to extend the match. Trailing 11-8 midway through the fourth set and with Hendrickson back to serve, an ace from the fifth-year senior and back-to-back Chillingworth kills tied the score, which prompted Stanford to call timeout. But Pepperdine's momentum was short-lived. The Cardinal went on a 4-0 run out of the timeout that gave the visitors a cushion they wouldn't relinquish. Pepperdine made one more surge as Pravenikov and Chillingworth helped the Waves make the score 23-21, but unfortunately for Pepperdine, the No. 2 team in the nation locked down defensively on the next point and won the match on an ace from Jordyn Harvey.
Stanford's Elia Rubin led all players with 20 kills, plus the aforementioned Kurt added 18 kills (on a .536 success rate) and Harvey chipped in 15 kills while hitting .556 to lead the Cardinal offense. As a team, Stanford had a .417 hitting percentage on 132 total attempts.
NEXT UP
Pepperdine hosts #1 Pitt, Omaha and UCSB for the Asics Classic, starting Friday, Sept. 13. 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
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.
