Women’s Volleyball
NOAH GODWIN
Assistant Sports Editor
Pepperdine women’s volleyball, struggling with injuries and a 7-12 record, continued its dominance of University of San Francisco with a 3-1 victory Saturday night.
Senior outside hitter Kristen Shultz served the Waves out of trouble time and time again and recorded a career high of four aces. Junior outside hitter Katy Daly led with 22 kills and also contributed 11 digs for her 11th double-double of the season.
Daly led the charge in game one as Pepperdine cruised to a 30-18 win, hitting .356 in the process. But the Dons postponed the rout by taking game two behind senior outside hitter Stephanie Voelckers, who paced San Francisco with 13 kills. Pepperdine limped to a hitting percentage of minus .093 and committed 13 errors and only nine kills.
The turning point of the match came in game three as both teams struggled to pull away. Pepperdine jumped off to a fast start 6-2 before San Francisco slowly closed the gap, eventually tying the game at 15.
Down 23-22, Pepperdine raced to a 5-0 run that was capped by two aces from Shultz. The Dons responded to trim the lead to 27-26, but the Waves closed out the game and took control of the match.
After keeping the fourth game close in the beginning, San Francisco could not keep up with the potent offense led by junior setter Melissa Mehlhorn. The Waves hit .364 in what proved to be the final game of the match as Pepperdine once again cruised to a 30-18 win.
Mehlhorn recorded her team-best 14th double-double of the season with 50 assists and 13 digs.
Shultz finished with 12 kills and 12 digs for her ninth double-double, but her impact was greatest when she unleashed a powerful jump-serve that San Francisco was never able to fully handle. Senior libero Christina Hinds continued to perform at a high level to solidify Pepperdine’s back row, and her 20 digs brought her within 22 of moving into the top 10 on the WCC all-time list.
The win over San Francisco was a relief for the Waves after they fell at home to Saint Mary’s College on Friday in three-straight games. The defeat marked the first time Pepperdine has ever been swept at home in WCC play.
Pepperdine started the match by taking a 13-7 lead following a 7-1 run. The Waves’ hot play came largely as a result of Mehlhorn’s blocking and Shultz’s serving.
But a Saint Mary’s timeout turned the tables for good against Pepperdine. Behind senior outside hitter Lindsey Bogason, Saint Mary’s stormed back to take game win 31-29 from the Waves. The deflated Pepperdine squad never recovered as Bogason went on to record 18 kills and 12 digs. Three other Gaels finished with double-doubles, including senior setter Mandy Bible with 44 assists and 11 digs.
Sophomore outside hitter Sophia Milo was the only Wave to reach double figures in kills with 12, while Hinds had another solid performance at libero with 30 digs.
Saint Mary’s took game two 30-25 following several mistakes by the Waves, including a crucial miss by freshman outside hitter Lecca Roberts that could have tied the game. Instead, the Gaels took a two-point lead and never surrendered it.
Next up for Pepperdine is a home match against cross-town rival Loyola Marymount on Friday.
11-04-2004
