SARAH SCHREFF/Photo Editor
DAVID NAKAGAMI
Assistant Sports Editor
Thursday night’s match in Firestone Fieldhouse paired the Waves with arguably their toughest opponent to date. Pepperdine welcomed the 17th-ranked Toreros of San Diego for their fourth West Coast Conference game of the season.
Entering the matchup, the Waves were riding a six-game winning streak, including three consecutive WCC foes. In addition, the Waves came in as the only remaining undefeated conference team. Pepperdine looked to continue their string of excellence against a tough and tested Torero squad.
The first game opened with the Waves coming quickly out of the gate, upping the score to 8-2. Pepperdine maintained a healthy lead deep into the game. However, San Diego bulled their way back, tying the score at 27, and beating the Waves to the tape by a 28-30 score.
Junior Julie Rubenstein led all players with eight kills, as did sophomore Kiah Fiers with 16 assists. As a team, the Waves outhit the Toreros 0.267 to 0.231, evidence that the Waves were very much in the game.
The second game began with San Diego out front. The Toreros held a 3-9 advantage before Pepperdine called a timeout. After the brief break, the Waves charged back to tally five straight points. Another push several points later on junior Cassi Chamberlain’s kill evened the score at 17 apiece. The game went back and forth, but San Diego managed another close win over Pepperdine 27-30 to put the match to a possible deciding third match.
Rubenstein recorded another eight kills in the second game, along with five digs. Freshman Kealohilani Kea also got nine digs of her own. The team also stopped six balls to up their total to 12 blocks.
In a hole no games to two, the Waves faced a tall task entering the third game. Pepperdine began slowly, looking flat-footed and allowing the Toreros to open a 5-10 lead. The Waves suddenly awoke, tying the score at 10 with five straight points. The scores stayed close to the end of the game, creating a heightened sense of suspense for Waves fans. Unfortunately, San Diego pulled away to win the third game by a score of 26-30, and the match in a 0-3 sweep.
Rubenstein’s 17 kills and Fiers’ 44 assists led all players for the game. As a team, the Toreros hit at a 0.255 clip compared to the Waves’ 0.212. The game proved to be a missed opportunity for the Waves to prove themselves worthy of ranking status. A win would have surely put Pepperdine in the top 25 instead of the cusp of the bubble where they will most likely stay.
“I thnk we played well, they just played better tonight,” said junior middle blocker Cassi Chamberlain. “We’ll move on tomorrow and come back Saturday playing harder.”
Despite the tough loss, there was a silver lining. This game was special in that the match was played as the Waves’ “Dig for the Cure” event. “Dig for the Cure” encouraged Waves fans to make either flat or per-dig donations to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Several Waves players wore pink ribbons in their hair, and the event staff wore custom pink “Dig for the Cure” shirts to publicize their worthy cause.
“We got donations, we got pledges,” said freshman Kristen Seaton. “We got all kinds of money to go to the foundation, so everyone won tonight.”
The Waves look to start another winning streak Saturday, when the Dons of San Francisco visit Malibu. First serve is set for 1 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse.
10-11-2007
