DAVID NAKAGAMI
Assistant Sports Editor
The Pepperdine women’s volleyball team extended their winning streak to five games with a defeat of San Francisco Thursday, only to see it snapped by San Diego Saturday. The last time the Waves played the Dons, in October, Pepperdine edged San Francisco 3-2 in Malibu. Almost a month later, despite the change in venue, the result was familiar as the Waves bested the Dons 3-2. Two days later, carrying their second-longest string of victories of the season to San Diego, Pepperdine faced the Toreros, leaving disappointed by a 2-3 match tally.
The Waves battled the Dons of San Francisco in War Memorial Gym, escaping with a 3-2 win by game scores of 27-30, 31-29, 26-30, 30-17, 15-13. Junior outsider hitter Julie Rubenstein paced all scorers with 28 kills, and added 13 digs to lead the Waves’ attack. Sophomore setter Kiah Fiers notched a double-double, with 72 assists and 12 digs. Freshman Krista Friedman led Pepperdine with 27 digs.
The Waves’ hitting percentage was a telling statistic in the outcome of the game. In their three wins, Pepperdine hit 0.250 or better. However, in the two games they dropped, the Waves hit 0.200 or worse.
For their following match, the Waves traveled to Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego, losing their five-game winning streak and their momentum. Pepperdine lost the match 2-3 by tallies of 28-30, 30-23, 24-30, 31-29, 13-15.
Although this defeat put another tally in the Waves’ loss column, there were several bright spots in the game. Rubenstein again led all players with 29 kills, and put up 11 digs to earn her second double-double in as many games. Friedman led the team with 12 digs, and Fiers set up 64 assists in the losing effort.
“I think our team played really well this past week,” Fiers said. “In our match against San Diego, we had a few unlucky plays.”
Teammate Rubenstein said despite the loss, the team’s effort has not relented.
“We’ve been working really hard as a whole,” said the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District third team member. “I think everyone’s been giving a lot of effort. I think with the loss, I guess we weren’t as consistent as we have been playing. When we’re playing consistent and we’re all working hard, we can be quite scary.”
The Waves face a critical week ahead, as they host the Broncos of Santa Clara and the Gaels of Saint Mary’s to finish out their West Coast Conference schedule. Pepperdine has an added incentive to perform well against these two opponents. Both SCU and SMC topped the Waves in a three-day span in October. The Broncos currently top the WCC standings, holding an impressive 10-2 record against conference foes.
“As far as just volleyball skills go, I think if we serve and pass well and consistently, then that combined with our desire to beat these teams, we should be able to pull off a couple wins,” Rubenstein said.
Pepperdine will clash with the Broncos Thursday and the Gaels Saturday at Firestone Fieldhouse. First serve is set for 7 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
11-15-2007
