Women's Volleyball Falls to Western Kentucky

Thursday, September 10

Bowling Green, Ky.

4:00 pm PT

Pepperdine University

4-3,0-0WCC

Western Kentucky

4-3,0-0CUSA

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Pepperdine	22	25	16	17	1
Western Ky.	25	16	25	25	3

Photo by: Joel Deman

9/10/2026 7:53:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Greg Bintz

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - It was a tough night for the Pepperdine women's volleyball team (4-3) as the Waves fell to Western Kentucky (4-3) in four sets.

Maggie Beauer was a bright spot for the blue and orange, tallying a team-high 11 kills, 12 points, and tied with Chloe Pravednikov for the team lead in attacks with 27. Defensively, Laine Briggs' 22 digs tied for the most among all players.

"Western Kentucky was the better team tonight as they put pressure on us from the service line and mixed up their offense nicely," said Head Coach Scott Wong. "We are working hard to grow as we are not quite there yet and these matches are so beneficial for us to be our best version as we start conference matches."

The Waves got off to a slow start but turned things around to take a 10-7 lead after a kill from freshman Eliya Dev and an attack error on WKU's Kate Rush. Both teams went back-and-forth, and neither squad could pull away until Western Kentucky went on a 4-1 run to end the set. With Pepperdine holding a 22-21 advantage, a couple attack errors proved costly as the Hilltoppers stole set one, 25-22.

Set two was all Waves. An Ella Piskorz kill put the stamp on a 6-3 start, and it wouldn't be long until Pepperdine led 12-7 after Irelynd Lorenzen buried a kill. Lorenzen's tally was part of a 10-2 run the Waves ripped off, and a Pravednikov kill put the exclamation mark on it. Pepperdine never looked back as the blue and orange knotted the match at one set each with a resounding 25-16 set two win.

Maggie and Irelynd with the rejection!

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— Pepperdine Women's Volleyball (@PepperdineWVB) September 11, 2026

The teams again traded blows midway through the third set, but the tide began to turn against the Waves with a Rush kill. Her play was the start of a 8-0 Hilltoppers run, which put away the set. A Tayler Baron service error gave the serving advantage back to Pepperdine, but the Waves faced a 2-1 deficit after WKU finished set three off.

Western Kentucky's run late in the third set carried over into the fourth set, as the Hilltoppers sprinted out to a 5-0 lead. Pepperdine climbed back into it and tied things at six following a Laine Briggs service ace and an attack error on Kaira Knox. The Waves took an 8-7 lead on a Pravednikov kill, but that would be Pepperdine's last breath as WKU ripped off an 11-2 run and led 18-10. The Waves showed some fight and got a block and kill from Maggie Beauer, pulling within six at 21-15. Western Kentucky ultimately pulled away with kills from Aubrey Sears, Eliza McKnight, and Kaira Knox, as Pepperdine fell three sets to one.

GAME NOTES

Western Kentucky had an advantage over Pepperdine in digs (58-49) and assists (53-37).
Tristen Raymond led the Waves with 27 assists.
Lorenzen posted an impressive .417 hitting percentage across 12 attacks (5 kills).

Pepperdine is back in action tomorrow at 1:00 pm pacific time against Eastern Kentucky. Follow in real time with live stats.

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.

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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.