nCORVALLIS, Ore. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team opened West Coast Conference season with a 3-1 (25-20, 25-22, 25-27, 25-15) win over conference newcomer Oregon State in Corvallis on Thursday.

Playing in Corvallis for the first time since 2008, the Waves (4-7, 1-0 WCC) beat the Beavers (2-9, 0-1 WCC) to snap a two-match losing streak heading into conference play. Pepperdine has won its last two WCC openers and eight conference openers total under tenth-year head coach Scott Wong.

Four Waves finished with double-figure kills. Birdie Hendrickson led Pepperdine on offense with 18 kills (on a .400 hitting percentage), plus she chipped in five digs, a block and an assist. Additionally, Riley Simpson chipped in 13 kills — including a stretch where she recorded 12 kills without recording an error — and hit .458 while adding three blocks. Grace Chillingworth and Ella Piskorz added 11 kills apiece; the former recorded a 14-kill, 11-dig double-double while the latter led all players with six total blocks (including two solo rejections). Defensively, Trinity Stanger led Pepperdine with 19 digs to push her career total over 500, and Rosemary Archer finished with a 48-assist, 10-dig double-double.

The first set saw the Beavers maintain a lead until midway through the set when a Kenadie Patterson kill sparked a 3-0 run that put the Waves up 12-11. Although the Beavers sided out to tie the score, the Waves responded with another 3-0 run to maintain the lead for the rest of the set. Four kills from Hendrickson down the stretch helped the Waves win the first set 25-20.

With 10 ties and five lead changes, the second set was the closest of the night. Oregon State doubled up Pepperdine with an 8-4 lead, yet the Waves sided out on a service error and gradually chipped away at the lead with Piskorz's first solo block of the night on the next point. Pepperdine got within one point of Oregon State once, then Simpson sparked a 4-0 run to give the Waves a 16-15 lead. Hendrickson then tied the match at 18 and Piskorz showed off her versatility with back-to-back service aces to give the Waves a lead they would never relinquish. Oregon State made a late push to tie the score at 22, yet two Simpson kills bookended a Stanger ace to help Pepperdine win the second set 25-22.

In the third set, Simpson shone, notching five of her 13 kills without making an attack error. For the second straight set, the Waves clawed back from a 15-12 deficit to tie the match at 17 with a Hendrickson kill. After tying the score four times, another kill from Hendrickson finally put the Waves ahead 23-22, prompting an Oregon State timeout. But the Beavers battled back. Unfortunately for Pepperdine, Oregon State saved set point, won a long rally and capped off a late 3-0 run with a service ace to take the third set, 27-25.

Momentum appeared to swing in Oregon State's way to start the fourth set, as the Beavers took a 3-0 lead. Trailing 5-2, a Chillingwroth swing sparked a 5-0 run that Emma McMahon capped off with an ace to put Pepperdine up front 7-5. From there, the final set was all Pepperdine. Hitting a match-best .455 in the fourth set, the Waves took over with back-to-back kills from Piskorz to go up 10-6, then the Waves took their largest lead of the set at 17-10 with a kill from Simpson. Fittingly, Hendrickson gave the Waves a double-digit lead at 23-13, then the graduate senior capped off the team's first WCC win with her final kill of the night on match point.

 

NEXT UP

Pepperdine's' WCC home opener is Saturday against Pacific at noon. Commemorative WCC champion 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.