SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Wrapping up the first West Coast Conference road trip, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team (8-7, 2-2 WCC) fell in four sets to the Santa Clara Broncos (7-8, 2-2 WCC) in the Leavey Center on Saturday afternoon.
After winning the first set 25-23, the Waves fell in three close sets as the Broncos snapped a 14-match streak against Pepperdine. The Broncos out-hit the Waves .344 to .232 and had 69 kills to Pepperdine's 50. Defensively, Santa Clara had seven blocks to Pepperdine's three.
"Hats off to Santa Clara," Pepperdine Head Coach Scott Wong said. "They made some incredible plays and were a little more consistent than we were, overall."
Individually, Maggie Beauer and Ella Piskorz led Pepperdine with a dozen kills apiece, while Chloe Pravednikov chipped in 11 and Tristen Raymond had a double-double with 10 kills and 21 assists. Emma McMahon led Pepperdine's back row with 14 digs to go along with an ace and an assist. Brynne McGhie led Pepperdine with 23 assists and was one of three players with two aces.
The Waves took a back-and-forth first set in which the teams were tied at 22 and 23 down the stretch. Pepperdine sided out off a Santa Clara error to bring up their first set point, which Laine Briggs sealed with her first of two aces to finish the first set 25-23.
Santa Clara kicked off the second set with a 5-0 run and didn't look back, yet Pepperdine went on a 5-0 run midway through the set to make things interesting. Ryan Gilhooly's ace helped Pepperdine pull within two, 13-11, yet Santa Clara responded with a 3-0 run and kept Pepperdine at arm's length for the rest of the frame. The Waves saved two set points off a service error and a kill from Pravednikov, but unfortunately for the Waves, the Broncos took the second set 25-20.
A five-kill set from Piskorz put the Waves in the driver's seat throughout the third set, as Pepperdine hit a match-best .393 in the frame. Back-to-back kills from Piskorz and another from Raymond put the Waves up 20-17, but Santa Clara rallied back with a 4-1 run to tie the score at 21. Lorenzen tied the score at 23 then the Broncos stole the set by winning the next two points to win 25-23.
Neither team led by more than three points in a back-and-forth fourth set. Pepperdine saw-sawed ahead with a 4-0 run to make the score 20-18, however, Santa Clara won several long rallies down the stretch, closing the match on an 8-2 run.
Cate Shanahan of Santa Clara led all players with 26 kills, which was a career-high. Setter Macy Hinshaw had a match-high 49-assist, 10-dig double-double for the Broncos.
Pepperdine comes home to host Washington State on Oct. 11 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.
