MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team (4-3) kept its perfect record at home intact with a 3-0 sweep over Lipscomb (2-5) in the annual Asics Classic match on Friday night.
The Waves hit the ground running with a strong first set win and didn't look back. Pepperdine bested Lipscomb in every statistical category: The Waves hit .379 to the Bisons' .090 mark, notched 10 service aces to Lipscomb's four and had a 36 to 25 advantage in kills.
Individually, Chloe Pravednikov led the way with 10 kills, Vanessa Polk chipped in seven, plus Irelynd Lorenzen and Tristen Raymond added six kills of their own. Raymond (20 assists) and Brynne McGhie (10 assists) ran a balanced offensive attack, as six different players recorded multiple kills. Defensively, Lorenzen and Ella Piskorz led the team with three total blocks, while Laine Briggs led all players with nine digs to go along with a pair of service aces.
"The team is just dialed in," Head coach Scott Wong said. "They're having fun and they're really connected. We were concentrated and focused the whole time, and the team had a ton of confidence in each other down the stretch."
In the first set, the Waves wasted no time putting Lipscomb away, going on a 6-1 run with aces from Brynne McGhie and Emma McMahon, plus a kill from Chloe Pravednikov. With Pravednikov's five-kill frame leading the way, six different Waves recorded kills and the team hit .474 in an efficient first set. Although the Bisons pulled within four at 18-14, the Waves closed the set on a 7-1 run — bolstered by back-to-back aces from Briggs — to win the first set 25-15.
Pepperdine kept its foot on the gas pedal, bolting out to a commanding 10-3 lead that featured a pair of kills from Polk, who had a solid second set with four kills. The Waves' offense outdid itself in the second set: The team hit .636 — its best hitting percentage of the season — and amassed 16 kills to Lipscomb's five as the Bisons had no answer for the Pepperdine offense. Leading 14-6, Pepperdine went on a 5-0 run with Ryan Gilhooly back to serve, who capped off the run with an ace after consecutive swings from Pravednikov. In a set that was never in doubt, Pepperdine led by as many as 13 points and won the frame with a roll shot from Lorenzen to cap off the 25-13 rout.
Lipscomb woke up in the third set, taking its first lead of the night and forcing the Waves to play from behind. Trailing 8-5, the Waves responded with a 7-1 run to flip the script. A kill from Raymond gave them a 10-9 lead, then Raymond found Lorenzen to make the score 12-9.
However, the Bisons answered by going on a 6-1 run to swing back in front. With the Bisons leading 18-16 and threatening to take a set off the Waves, Beauer and Piskorz teamed up for an emphatic block to side out and kickstart a 4-0 run. Eventually, Pepperdine needed to withstand one final push from Lipscomb. Down 23-22, the Waves quashed the Bisons' comeback hopes with two kills from Pravednikov late to finish off the sweep with a 25-23 third-set victory.
Pepperdine will head to UC Santa Barbara next Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 6 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.
