The Pepperdine women’s volleyball team was back in action on Wednesday night facing off against non-conference foe UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos served as the final non West Coast Conference opponent for Pepperdine for the rest of the regular season. The quick hiatus between matchups with Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount helped the Waves do a final check up before the thick of conference play got under way. And from the way things went it seems that they’re firing on all cylinders.
The first game of the night started out as a dominant display of offense for Pepperdine. The home team jumped out to a 6-0 lead before UCSB was forced to call a time out and settle their nerves. The Gaucho’s came out with a newfound aggressiveness running off four straight points and completely stealing the momentum away from the Waves. The first game soon became a seesaw affair that saw each team go on small runs only to be quickly halted by the opposition. There was finally a break in the momentum late in the game when Pepperdine took control and finished Santa Barbara off with a Victoria Adelhelm spike. Adelhelm led the charge throughout the first frame controlling all sides of the net in a virtuoso effort.
The second game was more of the same except UCSB found themselves ahead for the better part of the set. The Gauchos struggled to string together more than three points in a row however and let the Waves stay alive. As play progressed UCSB finally managed to slip away just enough to secure a victory 25-20 tying the game up at one.
The third game proved to be the deciding factor of the match a set you’d be hard pressed to top in any collegiate volleyball contest you’ll ever watch. Santa Barbara took the lead early on and began to pull away at 17-11. But after a timeout Pepperdine stormed back and tied the game at 24. Both teams went back and forth after that each unable to string together the two straight points necessary to clinch the game. At 30-29 the entire Pepperdine crowd jumped to their feet to help the Lady Waves on. And with the stadium nearly shaking junior outside hitter Lilla Frederick rose to the occasion with a game ending kill via freshman setter Kellie Woolever.
With so much effort put into the 3rd game UCSB crumbled in the fourth and lost by a score of 25-11. The home crowd advantage proved to be too much as Pepperdine sealed the victory and moved their record to 11-5. Their final non-conference game of the year was a huge confidence builder moving forward something they’ll need much of against arch rival Loyola Marymount this weekend. The Waves will need sophomore outside hitter Adelhelm to keep her hot streak alive as she’s strung together an impressive four games. If Pepperdine wins this weekend they’ll have a stronghold on the first place standing in the West Coast Conference after five straight victories. Despite the excitement of tonight’s match it’s still one game at a time.