SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team (1-0) downed UC Davis (0-1) 3-1 (26-24, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21) in the season Opener at the Sacramento State Invitational on Friday night.
The Waves were led by sophomore Maggie Beauer's career-high 15 kills, seven of which came in the third set. Fellow sophomore Chloe Pravednikov chipped in a 12-kill, 10-dig double-double. Setters Tristen Raymond (20 assists, 14 digs, five kills) and Brynne McGhie (16 assists, four digs) helped Waves run a 6-2 offense that saw seven players record multiple kills.
"We are off to a good start," Head Coach Scott Wong said. "We have a lot to clean up, but I am so proud of this team as they came out and kept on responding to the adversity of the evening and really showed a lot of heart!"
The first set saw UC Davis take control early and hold off Pepperdine for the majority of the set. Trailing 17-13, the Waves rallied back with a 6-0 run capped off by a kill from Pravednikov. UC Davis threatened to pull away, but the Waves tied the score at 24-all before an Ella Piskorz kill brought about match point. Raymond capped off the set with an ace to help the Waves take the first set 26-24.
Like they did in set one, the Aggies took an early lead. Pepperdine trailed 10-7 until Piskorz sparked a 3-0 run — first with a kill and then with an ace to tie the score. Neither team budged for the second half of the set: There were 10 ties down the stretch until the Aggies finished the set on a 4-1 run to win 25-22.
Yet the Waves bounced back from the second set with an offensive explosion. Pepperdine posted a .417 hitting percentage — its best set of the match — mostly thanks to Beauer's seven-kill frame. A pair of service aces from UC Davis' Haden Bones put the Aggies up 9-6, yet the Waves kept chipping away at the deficit. Pepperdine finally broke through with a late 6-0 run that included three kills from Beauer and a pair from fellow Arizonan, Raymond. An ace from Ryan Gilhooly brought about match point, then Pravednikov finished off the 25-19, third-set win.
The fourth set was all Pepperdine. For the first time all night, the Waves led wire-to-wire. The Waves bolted out to an 8-3 lead and led by five points three times in a straightforward fourth and final set. Beauer and Pravednikov led the way with three kills apiece, while Vanessa Polk chipped in a pair of kills of her own. Pravednikov's final kill of the night put the Waves up 23-19, then Pepperdine wrapped up the 25-21 fourth-set win with three UC Davis errors.
Friday's win was not only the first season-opening victory for Pepperdine since 2022, but moved Pepperdine to a 2-0 lead over UC Davis in the all-time series.
Pepperdine continues its stint at the Sacramento State Invitational by taking on UTEP tomorrow at 4 p.m. The match will be livestreamed on ESPN+. 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.
