Pepperdine Women’s Indoor Volleyball competed against Western Kentucky on Sept. 10 in their first game of the Alyssa Cavanaugh Classic at the E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. The Waves fell short of victory to the Hilltoppers in a final score of 3-1.
The Alyssa Cavanaugh Classic honors former Western Kentucky volleyball player Alyssa Cavanaugh, who played for the Hilltoppers from 2014-17 before being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2018 and dying in 2020. The tournament serves as a way to honor Cavanaugh’s life and legacy on the Western Kentucky team, according to WKU Athletics.
In the opening set, both teams were neck and neck until Pepperdine began a 5-0 run, the first to enter into double digits. The Hilltoppers tied up the score 10-10, launching a back-and-forth fight for the win.
Junior middle blocker Ella Piskorz collected two back-to-back kills to briefly put the Waves in the lead. While tied at 22-22, Western Kentucky pulled out a victory on a three-point run, according to WKU Athletics.
The Waves were ready for set two, dominating with a 25-16 win. Taking the lead early in the set, Piskorz put the Waves up by three after a consecutive block and kill, according to Pepperdine Athletics. The Waves took multiple runs, racking up nine points toward the end of the set.
Although Western Kentucky had the record number of total attacks for the night at 39 in this set, the Waves were ready to fight back with 13 total kills, leading to their victory.
With it all tied up 1-1, the Hilltoppers turned the tables in the third set, scoring 25-16 over the Waves. Early in the game, Laine Briggs, senior defensive specialist/libero, collected back-to-back aces tying the score at 4-4.
Junior outside hitter Chloe Pravednikov scored three kills in this set. The score went back-and-forth, until the Hilltoppers began an eight-point run to secure their victory, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Junior middle blocker Ella Piskorz (left) and sophomore setter Tristen Raymond (right) go for the block against Western Kentucky on Sept. 10 in Bowling Green, Ky. Piskorz and Raymond both collected two block assists for the Waves.
Using their momentum from winning two sets, Western Kentucky ended the evening with a score of 25-17. After a five-point run from the Hilltoppers, the Waves tied the score up at 9-9.
Maggie Beauer, junior outside/opposite hitter, scored three kills. However, Western Kentucky began an eight-point run and used that energy to finish out the game with a win, according to WKU Athletics.
Beauer led the Waves in 11 total kills, with freshman outside hitter Mariia Nikol Dvornikova at seven total. Beauer and Pravednikov tied with 27 total attacks, and Dvornikova racked up 26 total attacks. Briggs scored four total aces and Ryan Gilhooly, sophomore outside hitter/libero, collected three. Beauer was the top scorer of the night with 12 total points, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
To close out their time at the Alyssa Cavanaugh Classic, the Waves faced Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 11, winning the match 3-0, and James Madison on Sept. 12, ending the tournament with a win of 3-1.
This story was copy edited by Lila Rendel.
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Email Lang Cooper: lang.cooper@pepperdine.edu