Photo by Alysha Tsuji
Match 1
Women’s volleyball swept Delaware 3-0 in the first round of the Asics Classic on Aug. 30.
Junior Katie Messing led the Waves with 15 kills. Her performance was coupled with freshman Ryann Chandler’s impressive 21 digs.
The Waves were unrelenting in their attack and defense, notching 56 digs and 46 kills.
Messing considered the game “a great success” and “a sign of things to come” for the team.
Sophomore Taylor Racich also performed well with eight put-aways for the night.
On the defensive end, Chandler debuted her talents by protecting the court with 21 digs and several saves off the block to create second-chance opportunities for the Waves.
The team finished the first (25-12) and second set (25-7) rather quickly to an applause from the Roll Tide audience. However, the third set ( 25 -18) was more challenging as Delaware clawed for a fourth set.
Other key performers include freshman Brooke Honeycutt who produced four blocks and AVCA All-American senior Kellie Woolever who produced on offense with 31 assists, five kills, five digs and a pair of rejections.
Match 2
The women’s volleyball team made short work of the Iona Gaels in its second match of the Asics Classic tournament this weekend.
Fresh off a three-set win over Delaware on Friday night, the Waves entered the gym early Aug. 31, ready for more.
“Last night was awesome,” sophomore Taylor Racich said. “This morning we really needed energy because we don’t usually play in the mornings during season.”
If the team was low on energy, it didn’t show. Although the Waves began sets one and two with five tie scores, their consistent serving, steady defense and powerhouse offense left the Gaels scrambling to keep up.
“We’re playing fantastic defense; we’re serving really well,” Coach Nina Matthies said. “[We’re] creating problems for our opponents.”
Indeed, they were.
The Waves came out on fire in set three, burying their opponents from the get-go. Iona fought back, but it was no use. Four consecutive kills by freshman Jillian Bergeson, junior Samantha Cash, senior Kellie Woolever and Racich gave the Waves a six-point lead — a differential that would only increase as the game continued.
The Waves defeated the Gaels 25-14, 25-13 and 25-16.
Racich finished with a match-high 14 kills and 15 digs, followed by Bergeson, who had 11 of each. Woolever added 41 set assists, while Bergeson and Cash each contributed a pair of aces.
“It was great to see that we all came together as a team, really putting balls down, really serving hard, and passing really well,” Racich said. “We just really communicate well on the court.”
Match 3
After electrifying Firestone Fieldhouse with 6-0 set sweeps in the first two tournament matches, the team fell in the championships against Wisconsin 3-1 on Aug. 31.
The first four sets were a battle, all decided by three points: 25-22, 31-29 and 22-25. But in the last set, the Waves never recovered from the 2-5 lead the Badgers gained from the get-go and lost 10-25.
Wisconsin junior Ellen Chapman proved too much to handle, earning the match-high 22 kills in addition to eight digs. Chapman went on to win All Tournament MVP. Juniors Dominique Thompson and Courtney Thomas also finished with double-digit kills.
On the other side, sophomore Taylor Racich and junior Samantha Cash knocked 13 and 12 kills with 10 and two digs, respectively.
The Badgers dominated the team blocks stat line with 11.5. The Waves faltered in attack percentage, especially in the last set (.080).
Senior Katie Woolever, junior Katie Messing and freshman Ryann Chandler were selected on the All Tournament team.
Next up the team takes on UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Follow the Graphic on Twitter: @PeppGraphic
As published in the Sept. 5 issue of the Pepperdine Graphic.
