MALIBU, Calif. — Completing a perfect opening week of West Coast Conference play, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team beat Pacific 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17) in Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.

The Waves (5-7, 2-0 WCC) outperformed the Tigers (10-4, 0-2 WCC) in nearly every statistical category. Led by productive showings from Grace Chillingworth and Birdie Hendrickson, Pepperdine out-hit Pacific with 50 kills to the Tigers' 42, connecting on .234 of its swings to Pacific's .019 clip and doubled up Pacific with 14 total blocks to the Tigers' seven. Pacific's hitting percentage dwindled throughout the match as the Waves had four players with three total blocks: Rosemary Archer, Kenadie Patterson, Ella Piskorz and Riley Simpson.

This is the sixth time the Waves have started 2-0 in WCC play under head coach Scott Wong. As of press time, the Waves are one of three teams with a 2-0 record in league play; the other two are Washington State and LMU.

Hendrickson notched seven of her match-high 18 kills to lead the Waves, plus she recorded 11 digs for her third double-double of the year. Chillingworth added 17 kills, seven digs and two solo blocks — both of which came in the fourth set to turn the tide for the Waves midway through the frame. Archer also had her second consecutive double-double with 40 assists and 11 digs.

Facing off against this season's current winningest team in Pacific, the defending WCC champions wasted no time taking control of the match in the first set. As Pacific tried finding its rhythm in the early goings, Pepperdine rattled off a 7-0 run to double up the Tigers 14-7 thanks to four kills from Hendrickson. Although the Tigers went on a 5-0 run of their own, Hendrickson and Chillingworth sparked a 6-1 run that put the first set out of reach for Pacific. As a team, the Waves hit .455 in the first set and their lead never dipped below four points in the latter stages. The 25-17 set came to a fitting end with Hendrickson's seventh kill on set point.

However, Pacific evened the score in the second set with its wire-to-wire, 25-23 win. An early 5-1 run was all the Tigers needed to keep the lead, yet the Waves pulled within one point five times in the latter half of the set and fought off two set points off a pair of Pacific hitting errors.

Determined not to play five sets, the Waves took an early lead thanks to kills from across the lineup. The middles got involved early, as Piskorz and Patterson notched kills to help Pepperdine go on a run, then pinhitters Simpson and Chillingworth helped double up the Tigers 6-3 before a hitting error gave the Waves a 7-3 lead. Pacific would eventually tie the score at 11, but both teams traded service errors and 3-0 runs to keep the score knotted at 16, forcing Pepperdine to regroup.

Just as Hendrickson took over in the first set, Chillingworth answered the call in the third: Back-to-back kills from the reigning WCC Player of the Year out of the timeout helped put the Waves up for good. Pacific made one more push to save two set points, but a swing from Patterson at the net gave the Waves a 25-20 third-set win.

Pacific bolted out to a 4-0 run to start the fourth set, which made the Waves play from behind for the majority of the frame. Trailing 14-12, pivotal back-to-back solo blocks from Chillingworth put the Waves ahead for the first time all set, then the senior capped off her personal 4-0 run with a pair of kills to keep Pepperdine ahead for good. From there, the Tigers only got within one point of the Waves before a service error sparked a 5-0 Pepperdine run. Hendrickson then capped off the match with back-to-back kills, giving the Waves a 25-17 fourth-set win and a perfect 2-0 record to start conference play.

NEXT UP
Pepperdine heads to Washington next week for matches against Gonzaga and Washington State, the latter of which will be nationally televised on ESPNU. 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.