Entering the 2011 season, the Pepperdine women’s volleyball team had two goals in mind: defeat Saint Mary’s and win the West Coast Conference title. The Waves accomplished the first and took a major step toward the second when they beat the Gaels 3-2 at Firestone Fieldhouse last week. It was Pepperdine’s first win against Saint Mary’s since 2008.
Senior Kim Hill had a career-high 25 kills as the Waves went 25-17, 19-25, 24-26, 25-20 and 15-10, winning the last two sets to pull out the match. She also added 13 digs defensively as Pepperdine recorded 69 kills as a team. Hill was recently named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week. “It’s our goal to win the conference championship and this was a match we needed to win,” Hill said, calling the result a “huge win.” “It shows the character of the team that we never give up. We have a chip on our shoulder. We worked so hard in the off-season and we want to really win the WCC title.”
Saint Mary’s (6-9, 0-3) has been a thorn in the side of the Waves the last few years, but on this night Pepperdine found a way to persevere and grind out a victory. This was the fifth five-game match the Waves have been involved in this year and they have won four of them.
“All our wins are big wins,” Pepperdine Coach Nina Matthies said. “Our kids played well. To play five sets you have to stay in it mentally and physically. It shows that when we get in these types of situations we have the ability to win. This team has a ton of heart and great confidence in themselves that they have earned.”
After taking the first set 25-17, the Waves struggled as Saint Mary’s struck back and took the next two sets. In the crucial fourth set, Pepperdine trailed 10-9 with the match hanging in the balance. A kill by Hill off an assist from sophomore setter Kellie Woolever tied the set at 10 apiece and sparked the Waves, who went on a 10-3 run. Woolever finished with 55 assists in the match.
In the decisive fifth set, Hill was the difference-maker as she had four kills. Hill had a key block to make it 11-7 in favor of the Waves, followed by a kill moments later to give Pepperdine a 12-9 advantage. Three consecutive attack errors by the Gaels ended the match.
Pepperdine (9-5, 3-0) has won 10 WCC titles but none since 2003. Beating Saint Mary’s brings confidence and a sense of belief that this year could be a championship year.
“We’ve had a good season thus far,” said Matthies, who is in her 29th year at Pepperdine and is the WCC’s all-time winningest coach with a career overall mark of 539-318 (.629) and a conference record of 291-72 (.802). “We have a deep team and we are strong in all six positions. To be ranked 19th out of 320 [NCAA Division I] schools is big for this program.”
Hill and fellow seniors Lilla Frederick and Stevi Robinson have led the Waves to the top of the current WCC standings. Their leadership and experience will be invaluable to the team as they play new WCC member Brigham Young University twice in a 12-day stretch, as well as defending WCC champion San Diego in the near future.
“Our three seniors are playing very consistent and have been very good leaders,” Matthies said.
Pepperdine hosts BYU (13-4, 2-1) on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 1 p.m. at Firestone Fieldhouse.