Pepperdine Indoor Women’s Volleyball lost 1-3 against LMU at Firestone Fieldhouse on Nov. 7. In their previous matchup Oct. 12 at Gersten Pavilion, the Waves lost 2-3.
After losing the first match of the PCH Cup, the Waves were looking for a comeback win and won the first set handily, but could not finish.
“We fought and competed, but we just need a better start and better adjustments in the beginning,” Head Coach Scott Wong said.
The first set had a close start but senior outside hitter Grace Chillingworth was able to stretch their lead to 15-8 with two kills and an ace.
Freshman outside hitter Ella Piskorz followed Chillingworth’s momentum to spread the score even further to 17-8. The Lions responded with their own run, but were not able to finish the first set as it ended 25-17.
Momentum reversed in the second set after the Lions went on a 5-0 run for a score of 6-8. Chillingworth broke their momentum with a kill to make the score 7-11, but the Lions responded with another run. Pepperdine took their first timeout when the score was at 10-18.
The Waves gathered themselves and went on their own run to get back in the game with an ace from Chillingworth and another kill from Piskorz. Their rebuttal did not get them the set as it ended 19-25.
The third set had a similar start as LMU was able to get a lead of 5-10. Chillingworth and junior defensive specialist Emma McMahon battled back in with a kill and an ace, respectively. To continue this, senior outside hitter Birdie Hendrickson led the Waves to stay in the set.
Hendrickson hammered three points in a row with two kills and an ace to tie the score 19-19. To take their first lead, she gave the Waves another ace and kill for a 22-20 score.
At set point, the Lions tied for 24-24, but the lead would change a total of six more times before the set ended 30-32. Hendrickson had three kills in this stretch of play, but the Waves were unable to receive the Lions’ offense.
“I’m proud of our team for fighting and competing well,” Wong said. “It’s never easy to lose, but we fought until the very end.”
The Waves battled even harder in the fourth with 21 tied scores and eight lead changes. Down 6-10 to start, Wong called the first timeout to stop the team from getting into another hole.
“We just got in a hole every game, and against a good team like LMU it’s hard to come back,” Wong said. “We just couldn’t seal many games.”
The Waves then tied the score for the first time, 12-12, and McMahon’s ace gave them a lead of 13-12.
The set stayed close, and the Waves eventually tied again 24-24 with the Lions. The score would tie eight more times before it ended 36-34.
“We made some good changes and we made some good plays, but we really need to stay in the moment and don’t think ahead of the play,” Wong said.
The final score was 1-3. The Waves are now 12-10 on the season and 9-2 in conference play.
To lead the night, Chillingworth had 19 kills and 18 digs. Hendrickson followed with 16 kills and 11 digs.
To get them these points, junior setter Rosemary Archer set the offense and garnered 44 assists. Defensively, libero Trinity Stanger had 17 digs, and McMahon and Archer followed with 10, according to the stat sheet.
Pepperdine Women’s Volleyball has their next game against Santa Clara University at Firestone Fieldhouse on Nov. 14.
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Email Megan Harkey: megan.harkey@pepperdine.edu
