Pepperdine Women’s Indoor Volleyball lost to No. 2 Stanford on Sept. 11 at Firestone Fieldhouse. After a hard-fought four sets, they were unable to come out on top against the top 10 matchup.
The Waves were able to keep the score close against the Cardinals and held their own, especially in a new lineup rotation.
“There’s some really good moments of us connecting and flowing, but we just haven’t been in this lineup,” Head Coach Scott Wong said. “We’re trying to find that rhythm and flow and we haven’t found it yet.”
Wong said he is confident in his team’s ability to compete against high-level teams but knows that there is still a lot of room to grow in their overall consistency.
“Our defense was solid but at times it broke down,” Wong said. “[The question is] how do we sustain that even longer so we can compete against that team and beat them.”
The first match started even with a 6-6 tie secured by a kill by graduate student outside hitter Birdie Hendrickson. However, the Cardinals pulled away with 11 kills and 14 digs before Pepperdine called their second timeout of the match.
“They ran a really good offense and it was really hard for us to get into system but I think we competed,” Hendrickson said.
Hendrickson made an effort with four kills to keep the Waves in the set, but the final score was 18-25.
The second set harnessed better energy from the Waves as they tied the score six times before winning 25-22.
“[Our game plan was to] keep our speed fast and keep our tempo faster than theirs and control our side,” sophomore setter Brynne McGhie said.
Freshman middle blocker Ella Piskorz had two kills and freshman outside hitter Chloe Pravednikov got a kill and a block to hold onto the score early. For their first lead of the game, Piskorz hit another kill for a score of 13-12.
“We have a really talented group of freshmen, they’ve all been contributing in pretty significant ways on the court,” Wong said.
Senior outside hitter Grace Chillingworth’s kill forced Stanford to take their first timeout of the game at a score of 15-13.
This did not slow the Waves momentum as their highest lead of the night was 17-13. Chillingworth and freshman outside hitter Maggie Beauer combined for five more kills to win the set 25-22.
“We’ve been asking [Pravednikov] and [Beauer] to carry a huge load and they’ve responded nicely,” Wong said.
The third set was even closer as the score tied for a total of 10 times. The Waves carried their momentum from the past set with kills from Chillingworth, Hendrickson, and Beauer for a final tied score of 13-13, before the Cardinals could pull away.
“[Hendrickson and Chillingworth have been] carrying us in a lot of ways and we probably need more balance and more sets to the middles,” Wong said. “But [they] have been wonderful for us.”
The set ended 17-25, but the Waves still had one more opportunity against the No. 2 team in the nation. The fourth set garnered another six ties between the two teams as the Waves battled for the chance of one more set.
Hendrickson and junior middle Kenadie Patterson came out strong with a kill a piece for an initial score of 2-2.
This tied score continued to go back and forth until the Cardinals worked against the Waves defense to jump out to a 12-17 lead before Pepperdine called their first timeout.
“[We need to] control our controllables a little better and figure out how we’re going to score and compete in the grey areas,” Hendrickson said.
Although hits from Hendrickson and Chillingworth continued to be sent over the net from assists by junior setter Rosemary Archer and McGhie, the Waves could not finish against Stanford.
“I was proud of myself and I’ve worked super hard this season,” Hendrickson said. “I want to have a great season for the girls, and for Scott, and I respect this program so much that I just want to give it all to them.”
The final score of the last set was 21-25 for an overall score of 1-3.
“The one thing I love about our team so far is that we’ve fought and competed,” Wong said. “We’ve been pretty tough and never really given up.”
Senior libero Trinity Stanger and Hendrickson led the team with nine digs each against the Cardinal’s tough hitters.
Chillingworth led the team with 17 kills and Hendrickson followed with 14. Archer led with 21 assists and McGhie followed with 20 according to the box score.
“I think we need to carry over our grit and our fight and the mentality of not being scared just because it’s a highly ranked team,” McGhie said.
Pepperdine Indoor Women’s Volleyball will play Washington at Walter Pyramid on Sept. 20.
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Email Megan Harkey: megan.harkey@pepperdine.edu
