Women fight back against Trojans after being down 2-0, but fall short in a 3-2 loss and drop game to Purdue two days later.
ZACH ENGLUND
Sports Assistant
It has been a tale of coming close, yet coming up short against ranked opponents thus far for the No.-20 Pepperdine women’s volleyball team. This past week was no exception as the Waves came painfully close to beating No.-10 rival USC on Sept. 14, followed by a loss to No.-13 Purdue on Saturday.
“I’m really pleased with the way our team’s been performing,” Head Coach Nina Matthies said. “If we can just cut down on a few errors, then maybe we only have two losses.”
The Trojans came to Firestone Fieldhouse with a chip on their shoulder after losing last year at home against underdog Pepperdine in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Trojans established themselves early, going on an 8-1 run, immediately putting the pressure on the Waves to fight back. The hole proved to be too deep, as Pepperdine played a very sloppy first set, making 11 hitting errors coupled with just 10 kills.
The second match was much more competitive, as both teams battled only to find themselves tied at 20-20. USC did a better job of keeping their composure down the stretch, while also taking advantage of Pepperdine errors and miscues leading to a 30-24 win for the Trojans.
At that point it looked rather dim for the Waves, going into the locker room down 0-2 to a top-seeded team seeking payback for 2005’s tournament loss, but the team was no stranger to adversity and refused to succeed the match to their cross-town rival.
Pepperdine looked like a completely different team in the third set, playing like a team inspired. The two titans once again deadlocked late in the set, 23-23, but this time it was the Waves who took control, going on a 7-1 run and making sure the fans would not go home early.
The Waves stole the momentum of the match, playing with great confidence that translated into the fourth set. With the game once again tied at 20-20, Pepperdine completely dominated the Trojans, scoring 11 of the next 15 points, forcing a decisive and thrilling game five.
After rallying back from two sets down and forcing a game five, it seemed as though it was Pepperdine’s game to lose. The Waves took a 6-4 lead and appeared to have control, but the Trojans proved that their ranking was no fluke, willing their way back to take a 12-7 lead. With the Waves against the ropes, USC put the finishing touches on, winning the set 15-12 and keeping Pepperdine’s storybook ending from coming into fruition.
Saturday, the Waves took on yet another ranked opponent in No.-13 Purdue. The match was tightly contested all the way through, but Pepperdine was playing catch-up most of the time. The uphill battle proved to be too much for the Waves, as Purdue played a little more consistent throughout, going on to win the series 3-1 (30-21, 25-30, 30-24, 32-30).
At a time where it would be easy to get discouraged by all the close loses, Matthies remains optimistic that things will start going they’re way.
“Our offense is tremendous when we pass well, so that’s what we’ve been working on, she said. “That along with cleaning up some errors should take care of it.”
In the midst of the disappointing finishes, senior middle blocker Sophia Milo has been playing out of her mind, recording 20 kills and four blocks on Thursday against USC, followed by 15 kills and four blocks in Saturday’s game against Purdue.
“Sophia’s pretty much unstoppable right now,” Matthies said. “She’s been playing extremely well.”
Pepperdine’s next game is not until Sept. 28, when it starts a four-match homestand, starting with Gonzaga as West Coast Conference play begins.
09-21-2006
