MALIBU, Calif. — Powered by Birdie Hendrickson's career night and the team's best showing from behind the service line, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team came back from trailing by five points late in the fourth set to beat Omaha 3-2 (23-25, 19-25, 25-15, 25-20, 15-11) on Saturday evening.
Hendrickson tallied her second double-double of the season with 25 kills and 12 digs to help the Waves (2-5) beat the Mavericks (1-7) for their first home win of the season. Her 25 kills came on a .258 success rate and tied her career high, which she set earlier this season against Hawai'i. And, just like that night in Hawai'i, Hendrickson earned most of her kills in the later sets. Thirteen of her kills came in the third and fourth sets, which helped the Waves pull off the reverse sweep.
As a team, Pepperdine dealt 10 service aces, including three from freshman Ella Irwin and two from Rosemary Archer, whose second ace on match point helped the Waves pull off the comeback. Senior Grace Chillingworth chipped in 13 kills and eight digs, plus Chloe Pravednikov was one kill shy of her career high with a dozen of her own.
Saturday's win snapped a three-match losing streak for the Waves — two of which were against the nation's top two teams. It was also the first meeting between the two teams.
Pepperdine had to fight for its first home victory of the season. Coming into the match after picking up their first win of the season against UC Santa Barbara, the Omaha Mavericks started off scalding on offense, racking up 13 kills on a .364 hitting percentage. Although the visitors took an early 7-4 lead off a service ace, the Waves clawed back to tie the score at 13 thanks to three early kills from Pravednikov and Chillingworth. Freshman Maggie Beauer gave Pepperdine a 14-13 lead with her first kill of the night, then she teamed up with fellow freshman Ella Piskorz to give the Waves their largest lead of the frame at 19-16.
That would be the largest lead by any team in the first set from that point forward. Despite two late kills from Pravednikov on set point, a late 5-0 run from the Mavericks was the difference as the visitors took the first set 25-23.
Carrying momentum from winning the second set, the Mavericks started off hot, took advantage of service miscues and doubled up the Waves 8-4 early in the frame. But Pepperdine rallied and pulled within one point of the Mavericks off a block from Kenadie Patterson and Pravednikov. A 3-0 Omaha run put the Mavericks back in front 12-8, forcing the Waves sideline to call timeout. From there, Omaha's lead ballooned to six and the Mavericks faced little resistance the rest of the way to win the second set 25-19.
Playing with their backs against the wall, the Waves led from wire-to-wire in the third set, which saw the team post a match-best .294 hitting percentage. Hendrickson came alive early, notching three quick kills to give Pepperdine an 8-5 lead. Although the Mavericks came back to tie the match at nine, unforced errors put the Waves up two, then an Irwin ace prompted Omaha's bench to call timeout. Hendrickson capped off the 4-0 run out of the timeout and the Waves didn't look back. The fifth-year senior's seventh kill of the frame sparked a late 6-1 run to set up set point, then Irwin served up an ace to punctuate the 25-15, third-set win.
Omaha would not go quietly. A kill from Chillingworth sparked a 3-0 Pepperdine run to put the home team ahead 6-3, yet the Mavericks would battle back to tie the score at 10. Midway through the set, the Waves took a 13-12 lead, but Omaha rattled off five straight points that nearly put Pepperdine away for good.
But Hendrickson answered the call.
After Omaha gifted Pepperdine two points off unforced errors, Hendrickson's 20th kill of the night pulled the Waves within one, then her 21st kill put the Waves up 18-17. An ace from Chillingworth forced an Omaha timeout, then the Waves took control of the set. Two late kills and a Piskorz ace helped the Waves force a fifth set with a 25-20 win.
Pepperdine started off the fifth set hot. A service error from Omaha put Irwin behind the service line, then Irwin's ace, a kill from Pravednikov and a block from freshmen Pravednikov and Piskorz gave the Waves a 5-0 lead. However, Omaha responded with a 4-0 run of its own. Both teams traded 3-0 runs midway through the fifth set and — just as the Waves appeared to seize momentum with an 11-8 lead — the Mavericks pulled within one to make the score 12-11 and force a Pepperdine timeout.
Fortunately for the Waves, the team regrouped out of the timeout. Patterson's kill right at the net gave Pepperdine a two-point lead, then Pravednikov's swing set up match point. With Archer back to serve, the junior from Fairview, Texas capped off the comeback with her second service ace.
NEXT UP
Pepperdine wraps up the Asics Classic against UC Santa Barbara tomorrow at 3 p.m. The match also doubles as the team's Mental Health Awareness Match. 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.
