MALIBU, Calif. — It took every ounce of grit and determination the Waves could muster, but the Pepperdine women's volleyball team (12-7, 6-2 West Coast Conference) outlasted the Oregon State Beavers (12-6, 6-2 West Coast Conference) in a five-set dogfight in Firestone Fieldhouse Thursday.
"I think our team fought a battle and was uncomfortable," Pepperdine head coach Scott Wong said. "Oregon State is a really good team, and they played well tonight. We had to make a few changes on the fly and we did so tonight. We started slowing down their middles and then put some pressure on their outside a little bit. It was so fun to see our team compete. I think you see the true champions come out when things are tough."
The five-set win had it all: career nights for Chloe Pravednikov (20 kills) and Tristen Raymond (49 assists), a diving dig from Laine Briggs that turned the tide in the first set and Ella Irwin playing the heroine by stepping up and dealing a career-high five aces — including back-to-back aces to win the fifth set. Additionally for the Waves, Ella Piskorz tied her season high with 15 kills to go along with five blocks, plus Maggie Beauer chipped in a dozen kills and notched a season-high five blocks.
Carrying a nine-set win streak heading into Thursday night, the Waves showed no signs of snapping that streak by bolting out to a 6-2 lead in the first set thanks to a pair of aces from Charis Kai. The Waves built a five-point lead off a kill from Irelynd Lorenzen, but the Beavers clawed their way back into the set to eventually go up 19-16. Oregon State inched ahead 22-20 before consecutive kills from Lorenzen tied the match at 22.
Then Briggs pulled off what was arguably the play of the match. Trailing 23-22, Oregon State's Nathalie Scholz uncorked a massive swing from the left side that Pravednikov barely dug out. But in a flash, Briggs sprinted back to her own bench and dove over the seats, somehow keeping the point alive with a one-handed dig. The rally continued, only for Vanessa Polk to end things with a huge solo block that sent Firestone Fieldhouse into a frenzy.
From that point forward, the Waves had momentum and all the confidence to hold off a late Oregon State push. Although the Beavers saved a set point, Pravednikov's fifth kill of the frame gave Pepperdine the 26-24 first-set win.
The Waves faced a setback in set two, in which the offense hit a match-worst .091 while the Beavers notched 15 kills on a match-best .263 hitting percentage. Although Pepperdine trailed for the entirety of the set, the Waves tried mounting a late comeback attempt with an 8-1 run to make the score 24-23 in favor of Oregon State. Yet after saving four set points, the Waves couldn't get over the hump in a 25-23 second-set loss.
Pepperdine eventually bounced back to win a crucial third set that ended up being the closest of the evening. No team led by more than three points and Pepperdine dug out of an 18-16 deficit late in the set to tie the score at 18. Both teams looked poised to go the distance before Pravednikov caught fire late; the sophomore notched three consecutive kills for the Waves to put away the Beavers 25-23.
Oregon State made things interesting in the fourth set by coming back from a late five-point deficit to steal the fourth set. The Waves took a 23-18 lead off a 9-1 run that featured back-to-back aces from Irwin and kills from four different players, which appeared to be the end of the line for Oregon State. As the set went to extra points, Pepperdine had three chances to end the match, yet the Beavers rattled off three-straight kills to win 28-26 and push the match to a fifth set.
Yet for all the drama that transpired in the four sets leading up to it, the fifth set saw the Waves trail just once. The Beavers kicked off the fifth set with a service ace, but the Waves quickly regained the lead with kills from Piskorz and Beauer. From there, the Waves never trailed, although the Beavers tied the score on three different occasions. Tied at 10 all, Piskorz's emphatic kill kicked off a 5-0 Waves run to end the match. Beauer did it all — first with her third kill of the frame and then with a big solo block — which made Oregon State burn both timeouts.
With the end in sight, Irwin had more heroics left in her. The sophomore went back to serve back-to-back aces to seal the match with a 15-10 final set.
This Saturday, Pepperdine will take a quick trip to Stockton, Calif. to face Pacific at noon. 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.
