LOS ANGELES — In yet another close match between the two in-city rivals, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team (19-8, 13-3 West Coast Conference) outlasted the LMU Lions (5-20, 3-13 West Coast Conference) in five sets in Gersten Pavilion Saturday afternoon.
"It was a really nice match by Waves, led by some good attacking and blocking by Irelynd [Lorenzen] and Vanessa [Polk]," Pepperdine Head Coach Scott Wong said. "I'm proud of our fight to steadily play in the fifth set and finish strong!"
Pepperdine won the first two sets, however, the Lions won two close sets of their own to force a fifth set. In the fifth set, LMU led by two points on three occasions before the Waves went on a decisive 5-0 run late in the set. Vanessa Polk and Irelynd Lorenzen were instrumental throughout the match, but especially in the fifth set; Lorenzen had three blocks, while Polk had two, including a big solo block on match point to cap off the 15-11 win.
Polk and Lorenzen notched several career and season-highs to help the Waves win. Polk led the team with a career-high 13 kills and had a season-best eight blocks. Lorenzen, meanwhile, had her first double-double with 10 kills and 12 total blocks, the latter of which was a career high. Two more Waves finished in double-figures: Chloe Pravednikov and Ella Piskorz had 11 kills apiece. Freshman setter Tristen Raymond recorded her 13th double-double of the year with 48 assists — one shy of tying her career high — and 13 digs.
At the beginning of the match, the Waves started hot, jumping out to a 7-2 lead with three early kills from its trio of Lorenzen, Piskorz and Polk up front. The Waves led by as many as six thanks to one of Pravednikov's two career-high aces at 9-3. But LMU would claw back to tie the score at 12-all. Although the Lions hung around, the Waves eventually broke open the set and capped off the 25-18 first-set win when LMU was out of rotation on set point.
In a sign of things to come, LMU would improve in the second set and make Pepperdine earn its second-set win. The Lions were on the winning end of several long rallies early and neither team led by more than two points until Maggie Beauer sparked a 4-1 run with a pair of kills and a block to make the score 11-7. Polk also had her best set offensively with four kills — including three down the stretch — as the Waves took a 22-18 lead. A kill from Raymond gave the Waves set point, but LMU fought off three set points to tie the score at 24-all. A big kill at the front of the net from Piskorz gave Pepperdine another set point, but LMU sided out once more. Thankfully for Pepperdine, Lorenzen and Polk delivered — first with a kill from Lorenzen, and then with a big block on the right side from the pair to end the 27-25 second-set win.
Sparked by pushing the Waves in the second set, LMU played the Waves close once more in the third set. The early goings featured six ties and four lead changes before the Lions gradually inched forward. LMU had a 21-16 lead before the Waves called timeout, regrouped and made a push to win the set. Lorenzen sparked a 4-0 run that pulled the Waves within one at 21-20, yet they wouldn't get closer as the Lions took the third set 25-21.
Pepperdine played from behind throughout the majority of the fourth set. The Waves hit a match-low .103, yet appeared to break through late in the set when Polk spearheaded a 4-0 run to put the Waves up 19-16. But just like the previous set, the Lions hung around, tying the match at 21 before a Pravednikov kill put the Waves up front. However, LMU would finish the set on a 4-1 run to win the set 25-23 and push the match to a deciding set.
LMU dealt the first blow in the fifth set by going out to a 3-1 run before Pepperdine's offense came alive. Led by Piskorz's three kills, the Waves tied the score at six, then took their first lead of the frame with back-to-back blocks from Lorenzen and Beauer to make the score 9-7. Yet LMU rattled off a 3-0 run to claim a 10-9 lead, prompting Pepperdine to use its final timeout. Out of the timeout, LMU gifted Pepperdine a point off a missed serve, then Emma McMahon served up an ace to stay behind the service line for good. A pair of late kills from Pravednikov and an emphatic kill from Lorenzen gave the Waves a 4-0 advantage, then a service error gave LMU an opening. But on match point, Polk's solo block on the left side gave the Waves the five-set win.
Next week, the Waves wrap up the regular season with a pair of home matches, starting with a home match against Gonzaga next Wednesday 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.
