The Pepperdine women’s volleyball team will be serving, blocking, and killing in hopes of pushing its record of the .500 mark the next few days.
The 6-6 Waves will play at Saint Mary’s in Moraga, California, on Thursday then host San Francisco at Pepperdine’s Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday at noon.
Pepperdine started the season with five losses in their first six matches but have now won five consecutive contests.
The squad’s latest victory was a 3-1 home triumph over Loyola Marymount University on Sept. 23. Three Waves — Grace Chillingworth, Emily Hellmuth, and Birdie Hendrickson — tallied double-digit kills in the four-set win.
Chillingworth, junior outside hitter, had 15 kills with 6 digs and 2 blocks, while Hellmuth, sophomore outside hitter, had 13 kills with 3 digs, 2 aces, and 2 blocks. The senior setter Hendrickson rang up 11 kills with 9 digs and 2 aces.
Pepperdine beat LMU 25-17 in the first set; then lost the following set 23-25. The Waves won the third set 25-22 and secured the victory with a 25-18 fourth-set win.
Pepperdine dominated most of the match.
The squad gained an early 6-2 lead in the first set and never trailed. The Waves at one point had a five-point lead in the second set, but LMU was able to tie the score at 11 and then a few blocks and kills gave them the win.
Pepperdine had a lead in the third set also, but LMU tied the score again — this time at 13. The Waves broke away they to get the win.
Pepperdine controlled the fourth set from beginning to end. They had a six-point advantage after blocks and multiple kills. Pepperdine led 18-13 at on point, then 22-15. A block from Hendrickson and a kill a few plays later got the Waves close to victory. LMU hit the ball out of bounds for a service error. The point received in the Waves’ column gave them the victory.
Graduate student Isabel Zelaya, a setter, had 26 assists, 4 digs, and 3 blocks for Pepperdine. Freshman setter Brynne McGhie registered 18 assists, 7 digs, and 3 blocks. Senior middle blocker Meg Brown hit 9 kills with 5 blocks, 4 digs, and 1 ace. Sophomore middle blocker Vanessa Polk had 6 kills, 6 blocks, and 5 digs.
Freshman libero and defensive specialist Laine Brigs had 11 digs, and graduate student libero and defensive specialist Riley Patterson tallied 10 digs and 5 assists.
Pepperdine began the season with a loss to Kansas on Aug. 25. The Waves then lost to Texas A&M and UC Santa Barbara before beating San Diego State on Sept. 1. The team then lost matches to Oregon, UCLA, and Hawai’i. Pepperdine beat Liberty on Sept. 10 to start their winning streak.
The Waves downed Washington and Cal Poly in the Mustang Invitational in San Luis Obispo. Pepperdine beat Pacific two days before defeating LMU.
After hosting San Francisco, the Waves will play at Gonzaga in Spokane, Washington, on Oct. 5 and play at Portland in Portland, Oregon, two days later.