Women's Volleyball Gets Back in Win Column, Dominates Denver

Thursday, October 8

Denver, Colo.

5:00 pm PT

Pepperdine University

12-4,4-1WCC

Denver

8-8,1-3WCC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Pepperdine	25	25	25	3
Denver	18	14	20	0

Women's Volleyball Gets Back in Win Column, Dominates Denver

10/8/2026 8:01:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Greg Bintz

DENVER, Colo. - Pepperdine women's volleyball team (12-4, 4-1 WCC) earned a victory over the Denver Pioneers, sweeping their new WCC foe on Thursday night.

Freshman Mariia Nikol Dvornikova led the Waves with 14 kills, while Chloe Pravednikov added 13. Tristen Raymond had 42 assists and eight digs, and Ella Piskorz tallied nine blocks, tied for the second-most she's had in a single match this season.

"We had great output in many areas tonight, but Tristen has quietly made some tremendous strides in leading our offense," said Head Coach Scott Wong.

The Waves put on a clinic offensively in the opening set, making it difficult for Denver to pick up on the next attacker. By the end of the frame, Irelynd Lorenzen, Dvornikova, Pravednikov, and Maggie Beauer all had three kills. Iva Popovic and Laine Briggs notched a service ace as Pepperdine took advantage of seven Pioneer attack errors to take the first set 25-18, boasting a significantly better hit percentage (.275 to Denver's .140).

WHAT A SAVE FROM ELIYA DEV!!!! Her effort leads to another point‼️ #MakeWaves | @PepperdineWaves https://t.co/9F2dxQAhK6
— Pepperdine Women's Volleyball (@PepperdineWVB) October 9, 2026

Set two was more of the same as Dvornikova essentially took full control of the match. Raymond and the rest of the Pepperdine offense set up the freshman, who peppered Denver with 10 attacks, racking up nine kills. Nikol had 27 total attacks by the end of the set, hammering a dozen kills for a .333 hitting percentage. The Waves defense pressured Denver into six more attack errors and a dismal .031 hit percentage as Pepperdine turned on the cruise control to a 25-14 set win, looking for another sweep.

The blue and orange looked to put away Denver, racing out to a 9-4 advantage behind kills from Dvornikova, senior Astrid Puig, and a couple more service aces from Popovic. Pepperdine held a decent lead for most of the set but the Pioneers wouldn't completely fade, staying within five at 17-12 after Hailey Goebel put down a kill. A few late kills from Pravednikov and Beauer helped set up Piskorz's match-sealing kill as Pepperdine won set three 25-20, and the match in shutout fashion, 3-0.

GAME NOTES

Piskorz's nine blocks was the fourth time she's recorded that exact number this year.
Denver's .088 hitting percentage is the third-lowest allowed by Pepperdine this season.
The Pioneers had just one service ace, tied for the fewest allowed by the Waves (third time allowing just a lone service ace).
Pepperdine nearly doubled Denver in kills (50-28).

Pepperdine has a marquee matchup at San Diego on Saturday, set for a 12:00 pm first serve. The match can be seen live on ESPN+. Fans who are interested in making a weekend trip near the Southern California border can purchase tickets here.

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.

TICKETS
For more information on ticket packages and to purchase tickets for upcoming home events, visit here.

FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine women's volleyball news, follow the Waves on social media: @PepperdineWVB on Twitter/X, @pepperdinewvb on Instagram, and Pepperdine Women's Volleyball on Facebook.