DAVID NAKAGAMI
Assistant Sports Editor
Only bad weather could keep the women’s volleyball team from getting off the ground. Their flight was delayed in Atlanta on Thursday due to poor weather conditions, forcing the team to stay overnight. The Waves arrived in Charleston, W.Va., on Friday and went undefeated in three matches to win the Blue/Green Classic.
Pepperdine opened up the tournament Friday by clobbering the Zips of Akron. The first game set the tone for the remainder of the match, as the Waves held Akron to a -0.235 hitting percentage while hitting 0.264 themselves to win 30-10. The next two games followed suit, with Pepperdine trounced the Zips 30-24 and 30-19, giving the win to the Waves 3-0.
Junior Julie Rubenstein rallied the Waves effort with 13 kills and 16 digs, one of those being her 500th dig of her collegiate career. Senior middle blocker Lecca Roberts contributed 13 kills in the total dismantling of the Zips.
“We came in focused, ready to play and took care of business,” said Rachel Lumsden, a sophomore outside hitter. “We were passing really well and we were playing good defense.”
Play resumed the next day, with Pepperdine facing off against Marshall. The Thundering Herd pushed the pace the first game, forcing the Waves on their heels. Marshall took the
first game 30-23. The Waves recovered to triumph in a closely-contested second game 30-26, and carried that momentum into 30-13 and 30-18 victories in the following games to earn the win, 3-1.
Lumsden smashed 20 kills and notched 14 digs, with teammate setter Kiah Fiers handing out 50 assists. All facets of the game were clicking for the Waves, who recorded a 0.345 hitting percentage while muting the Thundering Herd to the tune of a 0.100 hitting percentage.
Later the same day, the Waves wrapped up the Blue/Green Classic title against the host Mountaineers of West Virginia. The Waves took the first game 30-17, dropped a tight second game 28-30 and then won the subsequent two games 30-15 and 30-17 to triumph over West Virginia 3-0. Pepperdine was powered by a combined 32 kills from Rubenstein and Lumsden, as well as 51 assists from Fiers. In this final match of the tournament, Rubenstein tallied her 1,000th career kill.
Throughout the three games, the Waves hit a robust 0.250 and held opponents to a miniscule 0.050 hitting percentage. Pepperdine’s sweep of the Blue/Green Classic added another tournament title to their season. The Waves have won three of the four tournaments they participated in this year, the other two victories coming in the Arkansas Invitational and the Asics Classic.
Not only was this a stellar weekend for the Waves as a team, but several individuals received recognition for their on-court performances.
Lumsden was named the Blue/Green Classic Tournament MVP, posting totals of 37 kills and 36 digs over three games. In addition, the outside hitter garnered the WCC Player of the Week honors for the week of Sept. 17. It is already the second time she has been merited with this title in her young collegiate career.
“I was really surprised,” Lumsden said of receiving both awards. “I was just honored as well.”
Fellow Wave Rubenstein accumulated 43 kills and 29 digs during the tournament, and in the process recorded both her milestone dig and kill numbers over the weekend.
“I didn’t even know — my dad told me because he follows my stats closely,” Rubenstein said. “I think it’s cool, but it was all possible because of my teammates.”
Her teammates could not be happier for Rubenstein.
“I was so excited for her,” Lumsden said. “It’s a great accomplishment and I’m so proud of her.”
The Waves do not have any contests scheduled this weekend. Instead, they will use this time to prepare for the beginning of conference play next week.
“We need to continue in working hard playing defensively and passing,” Lumsden said.
In addition to playing together, Rubenstein lists limiting error and keeping pressure on the other side of the net as keys to Pepperdine’s success throughout the conference schedule.
If the Waves can exhibit these traits, “we can play a lot more free and just have a lot more fun playing,” said Rubenstein.
The Waves take their strong 8-4 record into West Coast Conference play Saturday, Sept. 29. Rival Loyola Marymount comes to Firestone Fieldhouse to kick off the in-conference schedule at 7 p.m.
09-20-2007