Pepperdine went head to head with the University of Pittsburgh on Sept. 13, at
Firestone Fieldhouse. Pepperdine lost the match 3-0 to fall to 1-5 on the season.
The Waves starting lineup was senior outside hitter Grace Chillingworth, junior setter Rosemary Archer, senior outside hitter Birdie Hendrickson, senior libero Trinity Stranger, freshman middle blocker Ella Piskorz and freshman outside hitter Chloe Pravednikov.
The first set started strong, with the momentum swinging evenly for both teams. Strong attacks from Chillingworth kept the Waves alive for the first half of the first set.
“I think these tough opponents are teaching us a lot about what we need to work on,” Chillingworth said. “Carrying that into our next few games, I think we still have a lot of room to grow.”
Chillingworth is one of four senior or graduate students on the team, alongside Stranger, Hendrickson and opposite hitter Riley Simpson. Despite the loss, she said her hopes are high for the young Waves team.
Chillingworth was also honored at the start of the game for reaching 1,000 career kills. She credited her teammates for being her biggest supporters.
Despite the loss, Pravednikov still sees the positive the team gains from this game. She believes the team is ready for the opponents in the coming weeks thanks to this game.
“Playing these good teams really teaches us what we need to work on and perfect,” Pravednikov said.
Chillingworth led the team with six kills, followed by Pravednikov and Piskorz, both with five a piece.
Pravednikov also said how important momentum is for the young team, noting moments like when the team would stop cheering after they scored points, they played worse.
“We kind of learned that when we get momentum and we’re hyping each other up that we have a better outcome,” Pravednikov said.
Pepperdine’s offense struggled against the strong Pitt defense, being held to only a 3.8 hit percentage compared to Pitt’s 30.5. Pitt’s offense also shined, totaling 45 kills compared to Pepperdine’s 22, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
“They’re number one for a good reason,” Head Coach Scott Wong said. “They’re playing at a high, high level, and then to top it off, they served really tough tonight.”
Pitt had five service aces compared to Pepperdine’s zero and 57 digs compared to Pepperdine’s 39, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Despite the statistics showing a different game, Wong trusts in his young team. He believes that the young players are learning from the veterans and will show their skill throughout the rest of the season.
The first and third sets were kept close by Pepperdine throughout their respective first halves, but ultimately Pitt was able to pull ahead thanks to their star players, sophomore outside hitter Torrey Stafford and sophomore right side hitter Olivia Babcock.
“We’ve got some players playing pretty big roles that are young,” Wong said. “We gotta just keep on getting better and capture the good and forget the bad.”
Pepperdine fell 1-3 to both the University of Washington on Sept. 20 and California State University, Long Beach on Sept. 21. Pepperdine’s next match is away against Oregon State University on Sept. 26 at the Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon.
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Email Shane Stephens: shane.stephens@pepperdine.edu
