Pepperdine University
9-3,1-0WCC
Santa Clara
4-9,0-1WCC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pepperdine | 25 | 12 | 25 | 23 | 16 | 3 |
| Santa Clara | 18 | 25 | 16 | 25 | 14 | 2 |
Women’s Volleyball Wins WCC Opener at Santa Clara
9/24/2026 10:17:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Pepperdine women's volleyball (9-4, 1-0 WCC) earned a 3-2 win over Santa Clara (4-9, 0-1 WCC) on the road to open West Coast Conference play Thursday night in the Bay Area.
The Waves won the first, third and fifth sets to earn the victory in five. Maggie Beauer led the Waves with 18 kills with Chloe Pravednikov (13) and Mariia Nikol Dvornikova (11) collecting double-digit kills on the day.
Pepperdine had 24 blocks compared to 18 from the Broncos, with Irelynd Lorenzen posting a game-high seven.Â
The Waves extended their winning streak to a season-high five matches with the win.
"Tonight was a battle and credit to Santa Clara as they played some really good volleyball," noted head coach Scott Wong following the win. "Our team tonight showed up in big ways down the stretch and our true colors were displayed as I'll always take a tough team and that's what we were tonight!"
The Waves got out to a quick start, beginning with an 8-1 advantage off with seven consecutive points coming from a Ryan Gilhooly service. Back-to-back kills from Pravednikov capped the run, as she finished the first set with a team-high four kills.
The Broncos fought back with a run to make it an 11-10 score, but Pepperdine never relinquished the lead, with a key block from Ella Piskorz making it 19-15, as the Waves eventually recorded a 25-18 first set victory. The Waves had just two attack errors in the opening set compared to seven from the Broncos.
Santa Clara answered in the second set even up to the contest. The Broncos got out to leads of 9-3 and 20-9 which each prompted Pepperdine timeouts, as the home side eventually claimed the set 25-12. Pravednikov led the Waves with two kills and a block in the set.Â
The Waves led wire-to-wire in the third, securing a 25-16 win to retake a 2-1 lead in the match. Beauer recorded five kills in the set with Tristen Raymond assisting on 10 of 15 Pepperdine kills. The Waves held the Broncos to a .114 hitting percentage in the set and out-blocked the Broncos 6-2.
It was back and forth throughout the fourth set, with it being tied on 13 times throughout the duration of the frame. The Waves were ahead 23-22, with the Broncos scoring the next three points to claim the set, 25-23. Laine Briggs had seven of her team-high 17 digs in the set as Santa Clara forced a decisive fifth.
Beauer continued her strong effort with her 15th kill of the match starting the scoring for the Waves in the fifth set. Pepperdine battled back from an early 5-2 deficit to tie it at seven with key blocks from Piskorz and then Dvornikova and Lorenzen. A kill from Dvornikova and then a block from Beauer and Lorenzen put Pepperdine ahead at 9-8, with the Waves going back in front on an eventual 4-0 run.Â
The Broncos survived a pair of match points with Pepperdine ahead 14-12 to tie at 14. Beauer gave the Waves another match point with a kill on the ensuing rally, setting up a match-winning service ace from Charis Kai, one of just two aces on the day for Pepperdine, as the Waves won 16-14 in the fifth set to secure the conference opener.
Game Notes
- The Waves improve to 2-0 this season in fifth sets.
- Pepperdine is 8-2 in its last 10 WCC openers.
- The Waves have won 16 of its past 17 games against Santa Clara.
- Pepperdine moves to 2-2 in true road matches this season.
- Maggie Beauer led the Waves with 18 kills, her second-highest single game total this season.
- Beauer added four blocks, her fourth straight game with at least four.
- Irelynd Lorenzen logged seven blocks and four kills.
- Lorenzen has posted 20 blocks and 20 blocks across her past three efforts.
- Ella Piskorz collected five blocks and seven kills.
- Â Mariia Nikol Dvornikova put up 11 kills, her fourth double-digit kill game this season.
- Chloe Pravednikov totaled 13 kills, four digs and a block.
- Pravednikov has registered 10 or more kills in 10 of 12 games this season.
- Tristen Raymond recorded 39 assists, 13 digs and five blocks.
- Laine Briggs led the Waves with 17 digs to go along with six assists.
- Reese Poerner and Charis Kai had service aces for the Waves.
Pepperdine will return Saturday for its second conference match, traveling to San Francisco with first serve set for noon on ESPN+.
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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