ZACH ENGLUND
Sports Assistant
Paul Clark/Photo Editor
By the end of the weekend, Gonzaga and Portland were once again reminded that coming to Malibu to play the women’s volleyball team always ends in disappointment.
The Waves (6-6) have dominated both division foes when playing in the friendly confines of Firestone Fieldhouse, now boasting a 21-0 all-time record against both teams.
After dropping to 23rd in the rankings, Pepperdine looked to climb its way back up the national ladder, starting with a victory against Gonzaga (4-10) on Thursday night.
The Bulldogs would not go down easy in the first set, trailing by just two points at 16-18, but the Waves took control at that point, scoring 12 of the next 15 points and taking a 1-0 lead.
In the second frame, Gonzaga showed very little resistance, trailing the entire way through by a large margin, leading to a 2-0 advantage for Pepperdine going into the locker room.
The game appeared to be all but over, but the Bulldogs would make one final run in the third set, taking an 8-6 lead. The Waves, however, would not be denied the sweep, putting Gonzaga away with an 8-0 run and eventually winning the match, 3-0 (30-21, 30-19, 30-19).
Paul Clark/Photo Editor
On Saturday afternoon, the Waves would face yet another division opponent in visiting Portland (7-8), which proved to be slightly more resistant, yet still could not trump their division foe.
The Waves wasted no time establishing themselves against Portland, taking an 6-3 lead in the first set, followed shortly after by a 8-0 run that had the Pilots on their heels early. Portland, however, would not go down without a fight, clawing their way to within five at 20-15, but Pepperdine would swiftly end the comeback attempt, going on a 10-5 run and gaining a 1-0 lead in the contest.
The second set was even more even more one-sided than the first, with the Waves taking a 20-11 lead, putting on an offensive display of beauty against a bewildered Pilots team. A total of 15 kills and only three errors in the set for Pepperdine proved to be more than Portland could handle, as the Waves took the second set, coupled with a 2-0 lead going into intermission.
Game three featured mainly reserves for the Waves, as Head Coach Nina Matthies decided to give them some added experience in a game that had clearly been decided, ending in a 3-0 (30-20, 30-16, 30-26) sweep of the Pilots.
Paul Clark/Photo Editor
Although both were inferior opponents, Matthies explained that, with the way her team performed, whom they faced was almost irrelevant.
“It really didn’t matter who we were playing,” she said. “We played some pretty sharp volleyball. The work we put in was very evident this weekend.”
Particularly impressive to Mathies has been the continual improvement and outstanding play of the three freshmen on the squad, saying that“ they keep getting better and better. I love them all.”
With the victory, Pepperdine improved to 2-0 in the West Coast Conference (WCC), while also building momentum for what appears to be a tough week upcoming for the Waves.
Pepperdine’s first tough match lies a few hours south of Malibu, as the Waves will look to beat a ranked a opponent for the first time this season when they face off against No. 23 San Diego on Thursday night, going 0-6 against such teams thus far in the season.
That match precedes an even tougher division rival, as Pepperdine will also play No. 12 Santa Clara in another very important contest on Saturday.
Matthies is not afraid to emphasize how important these next couple games are for her squad.
“They’re the top two teams in our conference right now,” she said. “This is a huge weekend for us.”
10-05-2006