HONOLULU, Hawai'i — Coming back from trailing two sets to one, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team outlasted previously undefeated Hawai'i in five sets (25-15, 25-27, 21-25, 25-20, 15-11) for its first win of the season in Honolulu on Friday night.
Although the Waves (1-2) won the first set convincingly, the Rainbow Wahine (2-1) took the next two sets and led by three points in the fourth before Pepperdine pulled off its comeback. Friday's win was also Pepperdine's first road victory over Hawai'i since 1997 when the Waves also won in five sets.
Led by Grace Chillingworth's 20-kill night (on a .381 hitting percentage), Pepperdine out-hit Hawai'i (the Waves posted a .258 success rate, while the Rainbow Wahine hit .153) and made the Rainbow Wahine pay for costly, unforced errors down the stretch. Birdie Hendrickson stuffed the stat sheet with 14 kills, five digs, three assists and a pair of aces, plus Kenadie Patterson was a defensive force with her eight blocks to go along with two kills. Rosemary Archer led the team by dishing out 28 assists, while also adding nine digs, a kill and an ace.
However, Pepperdine's freshmen also stepped up in their first collegiate road match. Chloe Pravednikov set a career-high with 13 kills — including the match-winning kill. Maggie Beauer chipped in five kills, six blocks and 10 digs in her first collegiate start, while Ella Piskorz added three kills and two blocks.
Taking advantage of a Hawai'i team that has been wont to slow starts this year, Pepperdine used a 6-0 run to take an early 10-4 lead in the first set. With Chillingworth back to serve, the Waves got a boost from Beauer and Patterson at the net — the latter of whom notched three blocks in the first set alone. Offensively, Pravednikov's third kill of the first set sparked another 6-0 run that put Pepperdine in complete control with a 16-5 lead. As Hawai'i tried clawing back into the set by pulling within eight at 19-11, Piskorz sparked a 4-0 Waves run — first with a kill and then with a solo block that made Pepperdine double up Hawai'i 22-11.
All told, the Waves out-hit the Rainbow Wahine .353 to .083 in a convincing 25-15 first-set win.
The second set was a much closer affair. In a set that featured 14 ties and nine lead changes, nine kills from Chillingworth and the emergence of Hendrickson on offense helped power the Waves early. Hawai'i took a 9-7 lead, yet an ace from Hendrickson tied the set at 12 before Hawai'i see-sawed back in front. Neither team led by more than two points down the stretch. Chillingworth's kills tied the match at 20-all and 23-all, but the Rainbow Wahine found responses each time. Despite serving for the set with a 25-24 lead, Hawai'i regrouped out of a timeout and won the next three points to take the second set, 27-25.
After outlasting Pepperdine late in the second set, Hawai'i rode that momentum, and took an 8-4 lead in the third set, prompting the Waves to call timeout. From that point forward, the Waves pulled within one at 10-9, yet Hawai'i rattled off a 5-0 run to keep Pepperdine at arm's length for the rest of the way. Despite fighting off four set points, Pepperdine eventually fell 25-21 in the third set.
Hawai'i led by three points early in the fourth set, yet the Waves rallied back to force a fifth set thanks to three kills from Hendrickson and Chillingworth. Although Hawai'i led by three points early, the Waves outlasted the Rainbow Wahine on a long, frenetic rally to make the score 7-5 before an ace from Hendrickson tied the match at 7-all. Pepperdine didn't lead by more than two points until late in the set: After tying the score at 20, a Hawai'i service error and a block from Beauer and Patterson sparked a decisive closing 5-0 Pepperdine run that forced a fifth set.
The fifth set was all Pepperdine. Hendrickson's set-opening kill sparked a 5-1 Pepperdine run, which gave the Waves a valuable cushion as Hawai'i tried conjuring fifth-set magic of its own. Chillingworth took over with three kills in the fifth set before Pepperdine shook off service woes and dealt a pair of late aces courtesy of Archer and Trinity Stanger.
Leading 11-6, Pepperdine fended off one more Hawai'i push as the Rainbow Wahine went on a 3-0 run that forced a Waves timeout, but the home team didn't help its cause when play resumed. Two unforced Hawai'i errors gave Pepperdine a 13-9 lead, then another Hawai'i attack error brought up the first match point. Hawai'i fended off match point, but Pravednikov's game-winning swing hit the Hawai'i block and fell out of bounds to finish off Pepperdine's comeback win.
Junior outside hitter Caylen Alexander led the Rainbow Wahine with a match-high 23 kills. Kate Lang finished with a 42-assist, 12-dig double-double, while Stella Adeyemi had 11 kills and Tali Hakas added 10 kills of her own.
NEXT UP
Pepperdine closes out the two-match series against Hawai'i on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 10 p.m. PT. 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.
