STOCKTON, Calif. — Winning its fifth-straight match, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team (13-7, 7-2 West Coast Conference) shook off a slow start to put away the Pacific Tigers (7-13, 1-8 West Coast Conference) during a road match Saturday afternoon.
"After a slow start, we started playing pretty efficient volleyball," Pepperdine Head Coach Scott Wong said. "I'm proud of how business-like our team has become in their preparation for this week's matches."
Chloe Pravednikov and Vanessa Polk finished in double figures with 10 kills apiece, while Maggie Beauer and Irelynd Lorenzen finished with nine and eight, respectively. Tristen Raymond finished with a 34-assist, 13-dig double-double, while Pravednikov added a team-high 15 digs to complete her second double-double of the season.
Taking advantage of uncharacteristic Pepperdine errors, Pacific took a 5-1 lead in the first set and that cushion proved to be the difference in the first set. The Waves clawed back to take a 16-14 lead off one of Lorenzen's two kills in the frame, yet the Tigers went on a 5-1 run to flip the script. The Waves tied the score at 23 off a Pacific error, but unfortunately for the Waves, Pacific went on to win the set 25-23.
Pepperdine snapped out of its funk to start the second set. Pravednikov — who had a five-kill second set — notched two early kills and the Waves bolted out to an 11-3 lead. Ella Piskorz was instrumental to the Waves' strong start with three kills and a block in the set. The Waves doubled up the Tigers 16-8 off a Tigers' error and eventually took a double-digit lead with a tip from Polk. Piskorz gave the Waves their first set point at 24-12, yet the Tigers saved four set points before Beauer gave the Waves a 25-15 second-set win.
Needing to keep Pacific on its toes, the Waves broke out a 6-2 offense with Brynne McGhie in the third set. Early in the back-and-forth set, Raymond had two kills from the right side to keep pace with the Tigers. Polk capped off a 3-0 run to give the Waves a 13-10 advantage, then McGhie kept finding Raymond for key points midway through the frame. Raymond's four kills and two aces ended up being the difference: The Waves closed the set on a 7-1 run thanks to two late Raymond aces to win the third set 25-17.
The fourth set was close until the Waves blew open the set with an 8-0 run. With the match tied at 11, the Waves sided out, and a Laine Briggs ace kept the junior behind the service line for an extended period. Polk led the charge with a pair of kills and a block as the Waves went up 19-11 — a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Lorenzen eventually put away the Tigers on match point to cap off the come-from-behind 25-18 win.
Pepperdine will host LMU in a nationally televised game on ESPNU next Thursday at 7 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.
