WILLIAM ADAMS
Staff Writer
The Pepperdine women’s volleyball team traveled to the University of Texas at Austin over the weekend to compete in the Time Warner Texas Invitational. The Waves split their two games, sweeping Cal State Bakersfield 3-0, and then dropping their match against Texas 1-3.
The Waves defeated Cal State Bakersfield in the first match, but fell the number seventh-ranked University of Texas in their final match. “I think that we were up and down,” said junior Cassandra Chamberlain. “[We] learned from it and hopefully will go forward from it.”
The Waves began the day with a strong showing against the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners, defeating them in straight sets. Although the score was close, the Waves established a great foundation for the remainder of the season.
The first game started with no clear frontrunner. After a tight beginning, the Waves dominated the Roadrunners 30-23.
The second game ended with the Waves grabbing a two-to-none lead with a 30-28 victory.
The third and final game brought cries of déjà vu, as it closely resembled the second. When it mattered most, the Waves scored the final four points to win the first match of the day, clipping the Roadrunners’ wings, with a match clinching 30-28 win.
Junior Julie Rubenstein totaled 13 kills and 11 digs to get her sixth double-double of the young season. Kiah Fiers contributed to the tune of 29 assists on the game. The Waves posted a hitting percentage of .301, towering over the Roadrunners’ anemic .183 average. After the seemingly simple dispatch of Cal State Bakersfield, the Waves prepared for a tough match against the nation’s seventh best team.
The Waves played hard in the match against Texas, but were unable to pick up the victory. The Longhorns of Texas halted the Waves’ strong start in the final game of the invitational.
Despite their best efforts, Pepperdine could not find a way to slow the Horns down in the first game: Texas won it 30-24.
The second game appeared as though it would follow the path of the first.
The Waves never got off the ground in the third game as well and lost it 30-23.
Positioned toe-to-toe with the best, the Waves drew the score even at 29 each. The Horns scored two quick points to end the upset threat, and sent the Waves home with a win and a loss.
Despite the loss, Rubenstein tallied her seventh double-double of the season on the strength of 14 kills and 14 assists. Rachel Lumsden’s led the team with 18 kills. Sophomore setter Fiers set a season high of 52 assists for a four game match.
“This weekend was a growing process for us,” Fiers said. “We discovered some things that we need to work on and we are actually going to work on them now. [Our problems] were obvious this week.”
The Waves will take their 5-4 record to West Virginia, facing Akron on Friday, and Marshall and West Virginia on Saturday in the Blue/Green Classic.
09-13-2007
