SAN FRANCISCO — In a game featuring several improbable comebacks, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team (8-6, 2-1 West Coast Conference) prevailed to sweep the San Francisco Dons (2-11, 0-3 WCC) on the road on Thursday night.
The Waves trailed 18-7 in the first set, yet clawed back to win the first set. Then in the second, Pepperdine fended off San Francisco as it tried digging out of an eight-point hole. Yet Pepperdine prevailed both times for its first road win of West Coast Conference play.
"It was a good road win for the Waves at USF, as they put some early pressure on us and got ahead," Head Coach Scott Wong said. "But it was fun to see our girls respond and play pretty clean volleyball the rest of the way."
Individually, pin-hitters Maggie Beauer and Chloe Pravednikov led the way with 16 and 13 kills, respectively, and both sophomores were especially effective in sets one and three. Middle blocker Ella Piskorz led the team with five total blocks to go with 10 kills, four digs and two aces. Both setters finished with double-doubles. Tristen Raymond stuffed the stat sheet with an 18-assist, 10-dig double-double to go along with three kills, three aces and four blocks. Her counterpart Brynne McGhie led the team with 20 assists to go along with 10 digs and two aces.
San Francisco took advantage of a slow start from Pepperdine, won several long rallies and made the Waves pay for unforced errors to double up the Waves early in the first set. The Pepperdine bench burned both timeouts and prospects looked bleak for the Waves as they trailed 18-7.
But Pepperdine woke up.
The Waves went on a 5-0 run that was powered by three kills from Pravednikov. Then everything clicked behind the service line: McGhie chipped in an ace, then Piskorz dealt back-to-back service aces for the second consecutive game to pull the Waves within two.
Raymond put away a long rally to make the score 22-20, then went back to serve and immediately dealt an ace. After several challenges wiped away a few Dons' points, Vanessa Polk gave the Waves their first lead of the night and their first set point. Pepperdine then finished off its improbable comeback to steal the first set 25-23 off a San Francisco error.
Pepperdine didn't relent in the second set. Pravednikov kept momentum from the first set and quickly surpassed 10 kills, then the Waves showed why they were one of the nation's best teams behind the service line — first when Emma McMahon's serve bounced off USF's back line, and then with a pair of Raymond aces that gave Pepperdine a 12-6 lead. A block from Grace Jackson and Raymond gave the Waves a 20-13 lead — their largest of the night — and forced the Dons to call a timeout.
However, San Francisco nearly pulled off an improbable comeback of their own. Trailing 21-31, USF went on an 8-1 run to cut Pepperdine's lead to one, but a service error and Pravednikov's eleventh kill gave the Waves set point. The Dons saved two set points before Pravednikov's roll shot put the Dons away in a 25-23, second-set Pepperdine win.
The third set was the least dramatic of the night. Pepperdine took an early lead and never looked back as its offense overpowered San Francisco. The Waves hit .467 to the Dons' .250 clip, Beauer came alive with eight kills and Pepperdine served up two more aces to take the third set 25-14.
Pepperdine continues its first WCC road trip with a match at Santa Clara on Saturday at 1 p.m. All schedule updates can be found on the women's volleyball team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com
ABOUT PEPPERDINE WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Pepperdine women's volleyball has reached 26 NCAA Tournaments since 1981 as one of the most successful collegiate programs on the West Coast. The 12-time WCC Champions Waves have consistently produced top talent with 21 All-American selections with honorees in six straight decades. With multiple Olympians going through the program, Kim Hill brought home the program's first gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games.
