GARRETT WAIT
Sports Editor
The West Coast Conference was put on notice this weekend. The Pepperdine women’s volleyball team is no longer an idle threat. The team is ratcheting up its game and preparing for a serious run at the conference championship. The first step was a two-match sweep of Gonzaga University and University of Portland over the weekend.
Pepperdine manhandled the Pilots at Firestone Fieldhouse on Friday night, handing the Oregonian foes a 3-0 beating. The Waves won the first game 30-21 and only got stronger as the match went along, winning the next two games 30-18 and 30-15.
Junior middle blocker Sophia Milo led the Waves with 14 kills in the match, hitting .591 in the three games. Freshman outside hitter Julie Rubenstein was the only other Wave with a double-digit kill total, with 10. As a team, Pepperdine only committed 10 errors in the match, hitting .353.
Milo said the team’s wins can be traced to focus and practice.
“I think we can attribute last weekend’s games to a week of really hard and well-focused practice followed by focusing on ourselves the whole weekend,” Milo said. “We didn’t worry about what was happening on the other side of the net. We worried about cutting down our errors and being more successful.”
In the Gonzaga match, Pepperdine followed that same formula, cruising to another 3-0 victory. The Waves outlasted the Bulldogs 30-25, 30-28, 30-26.
Rubenstein led the Waves with 17 kills in the match. Senior Breegan Mulligan notched 10 kills and Milo again put together a league-MVP type of game, hitting .787 for the match with 16 kills. She said her personal success is a product of solid teamwork.
“I can only attribute my success to the passing and setting,” Milo said. “These past few weeks, our back row defense has been doing a great job of putting up great passes so that Missy (Mehlhorn) can put up great sets. Without those two components, no hitter can do well.”
The Waves’ record stands at 12-8 overall and 5-2 in conference play. Pepperdine sits in a tie for third with Saint Mary’s College.
The Waves travel to play the University of Santa Clara and University of San Diego. Milo said the two matches this weekend have a lot of potential to have a big impact on the WCC race.
“Santa Clara and USD are both going to be very big matches this weekend,” Milo said. “I think we have the opportunity to beat both of these teams and make a run for the conference title. Santa Clara holds the top spot right now, with USD close behind. Beating both these teams would put us in a great spot in our conference.”
10-31-2005
