Women’s Indoor Volleyball Beat Rivals LMU in Drama Mode Pepperdine Graphic

Rosie Ballo’s senior centre-half blocks versus LMU. The Waves have started the WCC conference game unbeaten through four games. Photo by Ryan Brinkman

Pepperdine Princess Indoor Volleyball (12-1) beat rival PCH Cup Loyola Marymount University (12-2) in five sets 25-23, 34-32, 20-25, 23-25, 15-12 on Saturday, October 2.

With this win, Pepperdine continued their hot start to the season, picking up six straight wins and starting the WCC conference game unbeaten in four games. The Waves had an overall record of 36-16 against LMU prior to this clash, with the previous win last March in a win that took three sets.

“I think the beauty of playing in great conferences is that you are always being tested,” Head Coach Scott Wong said. “So proud of our team for fighting and fighting in any situation.”

The Waves drew their first blood Saturday afternoon, as they won the first two sets.

The first set saw the two teams swap points, as neither team was able to get much offensive separation from each other.

Not until junior setter Isabel zelaya scored on the kill with Waves leading 13-10 so Waves attack increased.

Driven by Zelaya and the senior outer hitter Rachel Ahrens, the Waves continued to score, increasing their lead to 17-10. The set closed with Ahrens’ critical strike, ending the first set 25-23, assisted by Zelaya.

Rachel Ahrens’ senior outfielder dealt a heavy blow to the LMU defence. Ahrens continued his stellar game this season, ending the game with 18 kills. Photo credit: Ryan Brinkman

“Games can go either way, they can go up or down,” Ahrens said. “But I think just going through the moments where we’re kind of short on energy and things aren’t going our way, it shows that we’re tough, we don’t give up.”

The second set is where the drama takes place. A set usually ends with 25 points, but the Waves need 34 points to win over the Lions.

Second intermediate blocker Meg Brown getting score starts by converting a kill. LMU quickly responded by scoring four points in a row, two of which came from service as, leading early 4-1.

The turning point came when the score was 19-14, with LMU leading. Senior Libero Madison’s Shield collects aces and Pepperdine closes the gap 19-17, trying to make a comeback.

The run ended 20-17 when LMU scored on a kill by a senior outside hitter Megan’s Rice, which Wong challenged. Unfortunately for Wave, the original calls on the floor standing.

“I think we did a good job going through those undisciplined moments and then getting back together as a team and disciplined,” Shields said.

The match increased its intensity at this point, as the two teams again exchanged points.

Whenever it seemed like the Waves were gaining offensive momentum, the Lions always had an answer, whether it came from a serve error or a kill. The waves can’t pull away.

LMU freshman outside the beater Geissberger curry scored on kills, edging LMU lead to 26-25. Wong immediately approached the referee, and after much debate, he decided against using a second challenge.

“The same player touches the ball twice and that’s something [that] cannot be challenged,” said Wong. “So that’s when I decided not to [to use the challenge] because he decided that it couldn’t be challenged.”

The NCAA decided to experiment with the replay system this year to improve call accuracy and to see if any rules needed to be adjusted. The coach will have two challenge after the match starts, but if the match ends in the fifth set, they will have an additional challenge, although there are some special rules that cannot be challenged.

Finally, with a score of 32 draw, LMU did a service error and attack error and Wave came out victorious. LMU made a total of 33 errors during the match.

Sophomore middle blocker Meg Brown made a spike against LMU blocker October 2nd. The Waves have a six-game winning streak, with Brown starting every game. Photo credit: Ryan Brinkman

With Waves taking control of the first two sets, LMU returned the favor with their backs against the wall.

LMU came out shooting in the third quarter and was able to score six straight points in a stretch, including five attacking errors from Pepperdine and one kill by Geissberger, increasing LMU’s lead from 11-11 to 17-11. Pepperdine was unable to recover from the attack, and due to their mistake, lost the set.

Waves are not worried. Wong said they trusted their team-mates and the defensive efforts they had put in throughout the season.

“There was a group of 17 young women who really liked volleyball,” said Wong. “I think they looked each other in the eye and said ‘You got it’ and then went back to work and worked hard to build confidence.”

The fourth set has a similar feel to the start of the game, which mostly includes team trading points. New outdoor beater Grace Chillingworth had four kills in the fourth set, but Pepperdine made six strike errors, which ultimately led to their downfall. LMU won the set 25-23.

“When we struggled during the second, third set, it happened because of communication, and then we took it,” Shields said.

The fifth set had more offensive flow for both teams. With the game on the line, LMU struck first, coming out with four straight points.

Pepperdine responded with their own 5-1 win via a ball handling error by new LMU students Isabella Bareford and two attack errors by Geissberger.

The set was tied at 11 when Pepperdine began to pull away. Chillingworth was the offensive spark throughout the game and scored in a crucial kill. This was quickly followed by the ace by the junior defense specialist Kayla Joyce.

“I feel like playing here, covering there, digging here, and we’ve preached a lot that in training we have to stay disciplined,” said Wong. “We had to keep working, we had to keep working hard and we did it.”

Ahrens and Brown each accompanied the attack with a kill and an ace. The match ended in Geissberger’s error.

The Waves celebrate, but LMU Head Coach Aaron Mansfield decided to use his final challenge. As the crowd held their breath, the Waves rejoiced as the original call stood and they came out victorious.

“I thought we defended, blocked really well, I’ll give us an A for that,” said Wong. “I feel like that was our strength tonight and I’m proud of our team for doing those things.”

Ahrens and Chillingworth finished the game with 18 kills. Zeyala leads the team with 48 assists and Shields contributes with 23 goals. Senior middle barrier Rosie Ballo had an efficient night too with eight kills.

The Waves will travel to Stockton, California, to face Pacific University (6-10) on Thursday, October 7 at 7 p.m., PDT.

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Contact Jerry Jiang by Email: [email protected]

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firestone fieldhouse Grace Chillingworth Isabel Zeyala Jerry Jiang Kayla Joyce Loyola Marymount University Madison Shields Meg Brown Rachel Ahrens Rosie Ballo Scott Wong women’s volleyball