Pepperdine Women’s Indoor Volleyball celebrates together against University of the Pacific at Firestone Fieldhouse on Oct. 1. The Waves swept the Tigers 3-0. Photos by Guinevere Hesse
Pepperdine Women’s Indoor Volleyball continued West Coast Conference (WCC) competition against Saint Mary’s College on Oct. 3 at Firestone Fieldhouse. The Waves fought back after dropping the opening two sets before the Gaels secured the match 3-1.
Pepperdine entered the match on a seven-game winning streak and was undefeated in WCC competition, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
The Gaels found momentum early in the opening set. With an 11-10 advantage, the Gaels went on an 11-2 run before securing the set 25-16. Saint Mary’s carried the momentum into the second, taking the set 25-15.
Senior middle blocker Irelynd Lorenzen said the Waves found their competitive rhythm later in the match and are looking to bring the same mentality into the opening sets moving forward.
“We played some of our best and most competitive volleyball at the end of the match,” Lorenzen said. “But we want to figure out how to implement that at the beginning and how we can go in with that mindset.”
Pepperdine responded in the third set. Back-to-back blocks from sophomore setter Tristen Raymond and junior middle blocker Ella Piskorz gave the Waves an 11-10 advantage.
The Waves continued to battle with the Gaels before securing the third set 25-23. Lorenzen said the team’s ability to respond after the opening sets showed its resilience.
“Being able to stay together and come back, even though the first couple sets were tough,” Lorenzen said. “I was proud of how resilient we were even though we weren’t able to pull out the win, it gave us a little more fire going into our next games.”
Lorenzen also made an impact at the net, leading the Waves with 10 total blocks. Raymond followed with seven blocks according to Pepperdine Athletics.
The Waves were tested again in the fourth set after the Gaels jumped ahead 11-3. Pepperdine continued to cut into the deficit and eventually tied the set 24-24.
Saint Mary’s scored the final two points to take the fourth set 26-24. The result moved Pepperdine to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in WCC play, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Junior outside hitter Chloe Pravednikov (middle) passes the ball against University of the Pacific on Oct. 1. The victory extended the Waves’ winning streak to seven.
Pepperdine outnumbered Saint Mary’s 15.5-9 in blocks, according to Pepperdine Athletics. Junior outside hitter Chloe Pravednikov led the Waves with eight kills, while Lorenzen and freshman outside hitter Mariia Nikol Dvornikova each recorded seven.
Lorenzen said the match showed the team’s growth in adapting when faced with unfamiliar situations.
“Using that competitive edge and being able to overcome mistakes and situations that we aren’t used to,” Lorenzen said. “We have improved at adapting to what other teams are doing, but we are continuing to improve in that area.”
The Waves will now turn their attention to a stretch of WCC competition on the road. Lorenzen said she is particularly looking forward to the matchup against the University of San Diego to serve as another opportunity for Pepperdine to apply what they learned from the Saint Mary’s match.
“That’s going to be another fun, competitive game and another test for us to see if we can put into practice the things that we talked about after the match and the things we’re going to work on in practice this week,” Lorenzen said.
Pepperdine will face the University of Denver Oct. 8 at the Hamilton Gymnasium in Denver, Colo. before traveling to San Diego Oct. 10.
This story was copy edited by Olivia Schlossin.
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Contact Grace Boktor via email: grace.boktor@pepperdine.edu