Steven Siwek
Staff Writer
After four straight tournament titles, the Waves are looking stronger than ever. This weekend, they managed to hold off UC Santa Barbara 3,0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-16), Cal State Northridge 3,0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-15) and Texas State 3,0 (25-15, 25-8, 25-18) to keep their perfect 12-0 record alive.
Off to their second best start in school history, the Waves will soon begin in their regular season games against some strong West Coast Conference teams.
The Waves, who have now recorded 10 sweeps in 12 appearances against teams, were a tidal force again this weekend.
“The ‘tsunami’ and student body were so awesome coming out for our home opener,” said Coach Nina Matthies. “We’ve worked really hard to be where we are, and I was so excited for the girls to finally play at home. They certainly appreciated all the support.”
In the first game Pepperdine was led by its four-time consecutive weekend MVP Julie Rubenstein who tallied a game high 15 kills and 15 digs in the Waves home opener versus UC Santa Barbara.
“It felt nice playing at home,” said freshman libero and outside hitter Stevi Robinson. “We had great defense and blocking in our first game.”
Although the Waves got off to a slower start than they wanted, they still kept their composure in route to sweeping the Gauchos. Notable stats from the game included Lilla Frederick’s double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs, Rachel Lumsden’s 10 kills, Kiah Fiers’ 38 assists and an overall Wave hitting percentage of .304.
In their second match against Cal State Northridge, the Waves took the early advantage. They maintained the tempo throughout the game and kept the Matadors to a trifling .017 hitting percentage. The Waves defensive blocking was outstanding. Kim Hill and Lumsden each added seven blocks, while Cassi Chamberlain posted six blocks.
“We had some great defense this weekend,” Chamberlain said. “The great defense and awesome serving made my job easy.”
The Waves went on some huge runs against the Matadors, including a second set start of 7-2 and third set start of 11-3 and finished off CSUN in three straight sets.
In the championship match, the Waves went up against a competitive Texas State team. However, Texas State was in for a beating, as the Waves hit a season-high .474 hitting percentage. Pepperdine combined for a team total of 42 kills against the Bobcats with only six errors. Senior middle blocker Cassi Chamberlain came out strong for the Waves, posting an individual .867 hitting percentage (6-0-7).
After keeping the Bobcats to only eight points in the second set, a team-low for a Pepperdine opponent the second set, a team-low for a Pepperdine opponent this season, Texas State tried to regain momentum in the third set. They were able to make it a 16-17 game deep in the third, but Pepperdine prevailed, going on an 8-2 run and sweeping the Bobcats in three straight games.
Rubenstein, who gained her fourth weekend MVP honor, was also joined by Chamberlain and Lumsden on the all-tournament team this past weekend.
“Winning is more worth it to me than making the all-tournament team,” Chamberlain said. “Being on the all-tournament team wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for our team.”
The Waves will have this weekend off to prepare for a full season of good conference competition, which will start up on Oct. 2 versus Saint Mary’s and then again on Oct. 4 against Santa Clara. Both games are away, but the Waves will be back at home on Oct. 16 to 18.
09-25-2008