Photos by Arthur Puu
Pepperdine defeated Long Beach State at home, 3-1 Tuesday night. Sophomore Jasmine Gross led the Waves offense with 13 kills and junior Nikki Lyons posted her 11th career double-double with 11 kills and 16 digs.
“We did an amazing job of executing our plays, and starting off strong in the first set gave us confidence for the rest of the game,” freshman Alli O’Harra said. “It helped us become a meshed unit and it really showed the continual growth we have gained from playing with one another.”
In the first set, Pepperdine jumped out to an early 9-3 lead off a service ace from Jasmine Gross and continued to put on an offensive show throughout, closing the set on a 7-3 run behind Gross’s red hot offense to take set one, 25-14.
In the second set, the Waves took another early lead, 13-11, but the 49ers rallied from behind with a 6-2 run to take the lead, 17-15. Long Beach continued to stay ahead the rest of the way, taking set two, 25-21 to tie the score at one apiece.
In the third set, Pepperdine came out of the halftime break on fire, as sophomore Hana Lishman’s service ace gave the Waves a 10-5 lead. Lyons fueled a run of seven unanswered points midway through the set and Lishman’s second service ace secured set three for the Waves, 25-18 for a 2-1 set lead.
In the fourth set, both teams kept it close to start off the set, going point-for-point before the 49ers jumped out in front, 17-14. However, the Waves rallied back to tie the score at 19 all before riding a 6-2 run to clinch set four, 25-21 for the 3-1 victory.
“This upcoming tournament is really going to be a huge test for us, especially after this weekend [Asics Classic Tournament],” Head Coach Scott Wong said. “Playing in seven games in the span of eight days, let alone three each in back-to-back weekends, is going to test our energy, but I’m confident the team will rally together and play off one another.”
Set-by-Set Scoring (vs. Long Beach State)
Set 1: 25-14 (PEPP 1-0)
Set 2: 25-21 (TIED 1-1)
Set 3: 25-18 (PEPP 2-1)
Set 4: 25-21 (PEPP 3-1)
Up Next:
Pepperdine will head to Nevada for the Nevada Wolf Pack Tournament starting on Friday, Sept. 15 where they’ll face Missouri at 10 a.m. and Sacramento State at 4 p.m.
___________________________________
Follow Arthur Puu on Twitter: @arthurpuu
