GARRETT WAIT
Sports Editor
Momentum is often a fickle idea in sports, but if any team has momentum, it’s the Pepperdine women’s volleyball team, which ran off four-straight victories in Philadelphia on Friday and Saturday at the Sheraton Invitational.
Pepperdine was never really challenged, dropping just one game in four matches. The Waves opened with a sweep of Towson University, defeating the Tigers 30-25, 30-15, 30-24 behind a menacing defense that caused 31 errors. Pepperdine snapped Towson’s 12-match winning streak with the victory.
Pepperdine’s opponent Friday night was the University of Pennsylvania. The Waves powered through Penn on their way to another 3-0 sweep. Junior middle blocker Sophia Milo turned in a season-best performance, tallying 14 kills and just two errors for a .545 hitting percentage in the win, the best single-game hitting percentage in Pepperdine women’s volleyball history.
On Saturday, Pepperdine continued to dismantle opposing teams as Canisius University came calling. The Waves won 3-1 as freshman Julie Rubenstein led the way with 18 kills in the match. Sophomore Lecca Roberts added 17 kills and Milo turned in a double-double with 13 kills and 12 blocks.
Milo said the team played the best so far this season during the weekend tournament, which boosted morale.
“I think we played well,” Milo said. “It’s good confidence to have going into conference. It gives us a swagger. It affects everything. How you walk in the gym, how you do warm-ups, everything.”
Pepperdine’s final match of the weekend, against St. Francis (N.Y.) University, was their most dominant win of the tournament. They handed the 0-16 Terriers a 30-17, 30-10, 30-9 defeat as Rubenstein had 17 kills. The victory brought Pepperdine’s season record to 7-5.
The four-match winning streak is Pepperdine’s longest of the season and Milo said the team hopes to carry it over.
“I’m just hoping to continue it,” Milo said. “It’s definitely better than a losing streak, but you know the streak is over with one loss. We just hope the streak continues with our conference games this weekend.”
Pepperdine’s Rubenstein was named the tournament’s most valuable player, and Roberts joined her on the all-tournament team. The freshman outside hitter was also named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week.
The Waves head into the WCC season opener against University of San Diego with a renewed confidence, according to Milo.
“Even though the teams we played weren’t the top competition that we want to be playing,” Milo said. “I think it was good to gain confidence in each other, and we still held ourselves to high standards and played at our high level.”
San Diego and Sunday’s opponent, University of Santa Clara, could pose a challenge to the Waves, but the team is ready to face those challenges, according to Milo.
“The teams we play this weekend are great programs,” Milo said. “But I have confidence in my teammates and coaching staff that we are going to be well-prepared and come away with two victories and an overall record of 9-5.”
Milo said the key to their winning ways has been teamwork.
“If it wasn’t for every single person on the team, all 14 of us, there’s no way we could be where we are right now,” Milo said. “Even though we wish we didn’t have those five losses and we had a perfect record, without all 14 of us competing every day, putting in all the hard work, we wouldn’t be where we are right now.”
The Waves face San Diego on Friday at 7 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse and Santa Clara on Sunday at 3 p.m. Milo said the team wants plenty of fans in the stands to support the team.
“These are huge games for us this weekend,” Milo said. “Both Friday night and Sunday afternoon are huge, and we need all the fan support we can get.”
09-29-05
