Pepperdine Indoor Women’s Volleyball defeated Omaha in a reverse sweep of 2-3 Sept. 14 at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Although the Waves trailed in the first two sets, they were able to come back for a win in the last three by 25-15, 25-20, and 15-11, according to Pepperdine Athletics, to get their first home win of the season.
“That was not our finest moment but it really was an eye opener for us on our strengths versus our weaknesses,” senior libero Trinity Stanger said.
Graduate student outside hitter Birdie Hendrickson sparked a turn in momentum in the third set to get an initial 8-5 lead. Although the Mavericks came back, the Waves went on two key runs to end with an ace by freshman libero Ella Irwin.
The third set had a quick lead of 3-0 with senior outside hitter Grace Chillingworth’s kill, but the Mavericks continued to tie with the Waves two more times. After efforts from Chillingworth and Hendrickson, freshman middle Ella Piskorz added two more kills to secure to the fifth set.
“I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and my setters,” Chillingworth said. “I think they spread our offense really well and led our team really well.”
The fifth set was another game of runs from both teams with a score of 12-11 before Pepperdine’s first timeout. The set ended with a kill by junior middle Kenadie Patterson, a swing set from freshman outside hitter Chloe Pravednikov and another ace to end the set by junior setter Rosemary Archer.
Pepperdine wrapped up their Asics Classic Tournament on Sept. 15 at Firestone Fieldhouse with a revenge sweep against UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos reverse swept the Waves in their 2023 season Aug. 31.
“I was talking about the reverse sweep all week,” Stanger said. “I really took last year to heart.”
The first set started strong with a kill from Chillingworth, but UCSB stayed close until the final points.
At a tie of 21-21 with a kill from freshman outside hitter Maggie Beauer, the Waves called a timeout before going on a 4-0 run to win the set 25-21. Hendrickson ended the set with an ace for a score of 1-0.
The second set was one of ties and long rallies as the final score was 37-35. The Waves were down the majority of the set and called their first timeout at a score of 21-24.
Scott Wong’s, Women’s Indoor Volleyball Head Coach, words fired up the Waves as they got to the first of many match points with Patterson’s kill.
“I think it’s just a matter of staying engaged with the one contact that leads to another,” Wong said. “I had a ton of confidence in our team down the stretch.”
The Waves continued to bring the energy despite the long set and Stanger was one of the loudest voices on the court.
“I get a lot of fuel from my teammates, it’s not just me out there, I also do just love volleyball like when we get a point I’m genuinely so excited,” Stanger said.
The next 12 match points were handled well by Pepperdine as they battled each rally against the Gauchos. Finally, Hendrickson ended the match with a kill from a set by sophomore setter Brynne McGhie.
“Every single year I’ve been here we’ve gone to five sets so it feels good to finally sweep them,” Chillingworth said.
The last set came easier for the Waves as they had a steady lead after an 8-8 tie from Hendrickson’s ace. UCSB took two timeouts to try and slow the Waves momentum, but by this time the score was already 13-9, and the Guachos could not keep up.
“At the beginning of the year, we said our team word was going to be grit, and I think that set really showed that out there for us,” Chillingworth said.
Irwin ended the set with a block against the Gauchos. Even after the call was challenged by UCSB, the Waves were able to end the weekend with two wins.
“I thought we played really good volleyball against two really good teams,” Wong said.
Pepperdine Indoor Women’s Volleyball will play Pacific at Firestone Fieldhouse on Sept. 28.
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Email Megan Harkey: megan.harkey@pepperdine.edu
