GARRETT WAIT
Sports Editor
The Pepperdine women’s volleyball team fought two of the nation’s best teams over the weekend as it traveled to Omaha, Neb., to compete in the Players Challenge.
The Waves’ first major test was against the No. 1-ranked University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. Pepperdine fell in four sets despite solid efforts by the Waves’ two middle blockers, Lecca Roberts and Sophia Milo.
Milo, a junior who had 13 kills and five blocks in the match, said Pepperdine had a chance to take down the top-ranked team in the nation but fell short.
“We battled with them really hard the first two games,” Milo said. “Then the third game our hard work finally paid off. The fourth game was tough and we fought hard, but it wasn’t quite enough.”
Pepperdine’s second match of the weekend didn’t go as smoothly as fourth-ranked Penn State University swept the Waves in three sets. The Nittany Lions stifled the Waves’ attack, holding Pepperdine to a dismal .088 hitting percentage.
Senior Melissa Mehlhorn tied with Milo for the team lead in blocks with five. They were the only Waves to notch a block in the match as the Nittany Lions hit .214 for the match.
Milo said Penn State’s players weren’t the reason the Waves struggled.
“I don’t think we played our game,” Milo said. “I think we simply beat ourselves.”
The Waves salvaged the tournament by demolishing state rival University of the Pacific in three sets (30-15, 30-25, 30-17).
Freshman Julie Rubenstein led the way, notching 16 kills, and Mehlhorn tallied 34 assists.
Pepperdine’s confidence returned in the Pacific game, according to Milo.
“After the Penn State game, we knew that we couldn’t beat ourselves like that again,” Milo said. “I think we went into the UOP match with more swagger and confidence in ourselves.
“We knew that we were the better team, that if we played our game and competed at our level, we could beat them.”
The one-win, two-loss weekend brought the Waves’ record to 3-3 on the season, as Pepperdine returns to the Los Angeles area to take on the University of Southern California Friday before coming back to Firestone Fieldhouse to face Long Beach State on Tuesday.
Milo said the team is ready to get back on the winning track against the two Southern California rivals.
“We’re ready to knock some more teams out,” Milo said. “We know they’re not going to be easy matches, but we definitely know that we can beat them if we play our game and cut down on mistakes.”
09-15-2005
