DAVID NAKAGAMI
Staff Writer
In the midst of Family Weekend, the women’s volleyball team looked the part of a tight-knit athletic family in front of the home crowd. The Waves looked to rebound from a devastating 0-3 defeat at the hands of No.-17 San Diego Thursday.
“As a team, we were preparing to do our best and to win,” said freshman Kealohilani Kea. “We had a loss, and basically that was a lesson for us.”
Enter the Dons of San Francisco, who were also handed a loss in their last match, a 1-3 beating by Loyola Marymount. The two West Coast Conference teams locked horns Saturday in Malibu, both looking to reverse their fortunes. Pepperdine came out on top, bouncing the Dons 30-24, 21-30, 30-20, 28-30, 15-11 to win the match 3-2.
The orange and blue burst out of the gate with ferocity, mounting a 7-1 lead on San Francisco early. It was an advantage the Waves would not relinquish, pushing the lead to as much as 10 points. The Dons made a play for a comeback, but it was too little too late as Pepperdine took the first game by a 30-24 tally.
Sophomore outside hitter Kayla Walker led all scorers with six kills, as did teammate Krista Friedman with six digs. As a team, the Waves hit a preposterous 0.311 to the Dons’ 0.100. In addition, Pepperdine had three total team blocks, while San Francisco managed none.
Poor passing plagued Pepperdine at the outset of the second game, giving the Dons a 5-7 advantage on the scoreboard. After giving up six straight points to San Francisco, the Waves took a timeout to refocus their energy. Pepperdine still found themselves behind after the break, looking up at a 10-point deficit at 13-23. A game in which they looked somewhat off, the Waves lost the second game 21-30, evening the match at one game apiece.
After a strong first game, the Waves were limited to hitting 0.108 while the Dons hit 0.297. The offense struggled to find a rhythm, only mustering 12 kills and 10 assists the entire game.
After an off previous game, Pepperdine came out for the third game rededicated and motivated. The Waves found themselves in front 10-4 before a San Francisco timeout.
Pepperdine continued their push, rolling off a 9-3 run to up the score to 19-8 preceding another Dons timeout. Giving away a few points to close the score to 27-19, the Waves finished the game out emphatically on senior Lecca Roberts’ smash, the tally 30-20.
The third game displayed the Waves at their best, firing on all cylinders. Pepperdine hit a higher percentage in their third game (0.472) than the first two combined (0.419). Roberts recorded five kills, and Rubenstein had eight digs.
With the momentum firmly in their grasp, the Waves looked to close out the match in the fourth game. The lead was passed back and forth, with Pepperdine starting off in the lead, and the Dons taking it back at 7-8. A Kristen Seaton smash and a spike from Rubenstein put the Waves up 20-19, starting another see-saw in the score. The Dons took a late 28-29 lead, and won the game with a block at the net, 28-30. With the games split at 2, the match went to a deciding fifth game.
Down to a fifth and final game, both teams were hungry for the win. The Waves kept the score close, but fell behind 5-8. A kill and two blocks later, Pepperdine knotted the score at 8. A back court spike by Rubenstein and an overhead smash by Walker gave the Waves their first lead of the final game. The Pepperdine lead fluctuated from 13-9 to 13-11, but the Waves hung tough. Another kill by Walker and a devastating hammer by Rubenstein finished the match 15-11 and gave the Waves the win 3-2.
“I thought it was exciting for our fans,” Kea said. “We lost a little focus in a couple of the games, but I think as a team we pulled it together and we pulled it through.”
For the match, Rubenstein recorded highs of 24 kills and 20 digs. Roberts chipped in with 17 kills, while Fiers had a double-double with 62 assists and 10 digs. Junior Caitlin Lawson added 12 digs to the defensive effort.
Pepperdine (14-5, 4-1 WCC) begins a three-game road trip on Thursday at Santa Clara, then travels to Moraga to face St. Mary’s before returning to the area to match up against Loyola Marymount.
10-13-2007
