LONG BEACH, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team wrapped up its non-conference play with a 3-1 (14-25, 25-8, 19-25, 16-25) loss to Long Beach State in the Walter Pyramid on Saturday afternoon.
Both the Waves (3-7) and the Beach (6-4) traded lopsided sets, yet the hosts pulled away by hitting .300 or better in the latter two sets to win the match. Despite having a balanced attack with four players recording seven kills or more, the Waves' offense struggled in the latter two sets, hitting .194 and .083 while the Beach posted hitting percentages of over .300 in the final sets.
The Waves relied on their pair of veteran pin hitters Birdie Hendrickson and Grace Chillingworth throughout the match, both of whom finished with 11 kills. However, Pepperdine also got offensive boosts from middles Ella Piskorz and Kenadie Patterson, who tied their season-highs with seven kills each. Rosemary Archer had a productive match with 29 assists, seven digs, two aces and a block, while Trinity Stanger kept the Waves in several long rallies defensively with her team-high 15 digs.
Long Beach State came out firing on all cylinders in the first set, as the Beach used a 9-0 run midway through the frame to take a 16-6 lead on the Waves. Pepperdine pulled within seven points with Archer behind the service line, but couldn't get closer in a 25-14 first-set loss.
However, the Waves returned the favor in an explosive second set, which saw the team hit a match-best .368. Pepperdine took an early 4-0 lead — its first lead of the afternoon — capped off by a Patterson kill before the Beach got on the board. A solo block from reigning West Coast Conference Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week Piskorz, then a kill from Chillingworth gave Pepperdine an 8-3 advantage that would only increase throughout the set. Junior Emma McMahon's ace at 10-3 sparked a decisive 7-1 run, which featured three consecutive Piskorz kills to blow open the set. At 17-4, the Beach finally snapped the scoreless streak, yet good serving from Hendrickson and Archer and two kills from Long Beach native Chloe Pravednikov down the stretch gave Pepperdine a 25-8 win.
Although the first two sets featured no lead changes and just one tie, the third set featured three ties and one lead change. The Beach broke a 3-3 tie with a 3-0 run and kept the Waves at arm's length for the remainder of the set. Despite trailing 15-9, Pepperdine went on a 4-0 run to get back into the match, which was capped off by a Stanger ace that made the Beach regroup. Unfortunately for Pepperdine, a 4-0 LBSU run with back-to-back aces put the set out of reach for good.
From there, the Beach rolled. Playing in another close set, the Waves sided out with a block from Patterson and Pravednikov to make the score 10-9 in favor of the Beach, yet Pepperdine could only get within two points of Long Beach State from that point forward. Another block from Piskorz and Archer at 16-14 appeared to be the spark the Waves needed, yet the Beach sided out, won the next five points and was in complete control for the rest of the match.
NEXT UP
Pepperdine begins West Coast Conference play next Thursday at conference newcomer Oregon State. The Waves' WCC home opener is next Saturday against Pacific, at which free, commemorative WCC rally towels will be given to the first 100 fans. 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.
