TEMPE, Ariz. — Despite winning the first two sets, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team (5-4) fell to Grand Canyon (7-3) in five sets during the opening match of the Sun Devil Classic in Tempe, Ariz. on Thursday night.
Three Waves finished in double figures on offense. Chloe Pravednikov led the Waves with 14 kills, while Maggie Beauer added a dozen kills, three blocks and three digs in her return to her home state of Arizona. Ella Piskorz chipped in a dozen kills and tied Irelynd Lorenzen for the team lead with five blocks. Freshman Tristen Raymond had a double-double with a team-high 28 assists and a career-high 16 digs to go with three blocks and a pair of service aces.
The Waves took the first two sets in convincing fashion, winning with set scores of 25-18 and 25-21 before GCU took its first lead of the night early in the third set. The Lopes would go on to take the third set 25-17, as they held the Waves to hitting .000 with seven total blocks in the frame.
Sparked by their first set win, the Lopes took a 5-2 lead early in the fourth, forcing the Waves to play catch-up once more. A Raymond service ace helped the Waves tie the score at nine, then Pepperdine went on a 4-1 run to reclaim the lead thanks to kills from Beauer and Pravednikov. But GCU hung with Pepperdine and the two teams traded runs late as tension rose late in the set. Eventually, Pravednikov gave Pepperdine its first match point at 24-22, but the Lopes saved a match point and stole the set with a closing 4-0 run.
GCU's stock kept rising in the fifth set, however, as the Lopes bolted out to a 5-0 lead that forced the Waves to burn a timeout. Raymond nearly willed the Waves back in the match, first by finding middle blockers Vanessa Polk and Piskorz for kills, then using a valiant second effort for a kill of her own to make the score 8-5, GCU. After the Lopes sided out, the Waves went on a 4-0 run to get back into the set, featuring an ace from Raymond, a kill from Beauer and finally a GCU attack error that tied the score at nine.
Back in the match, the Waves inched ahead 12-11 thanks to another Beauer kill and a pair of GCU miscues. However, the Lopes surged ahead for good with a 4-0 run to cap off the reverse sweep.
Thursday night was Pepperdine's first five-set loss this season.
Pepperdine continues its stint at the Sun Devil Classic in Tempe, Ariz. with a 6 p.m. match against No. 8 Arizona State on Friday. 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.
