SAN DIEGO - USD’s women’s volleyball team (7-8) met the Pepperdine Waves (13-4) in the second of two conference clashes this weekend at Jenny Craig Pavilion. Thursday evening’s five–set loss to LMU was only the beginning of a disappointing Alumni Weekend. USD then lost to Pepperdine, 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-23). USD is now 2-3 in West Coast Conference play.
Set One
Pepperdine pulled ahead early, but the Toreros tied them at five. A four-point streak gave USD an 8-5 lead, two of which came from Nemo Beach’s back-to-back kills. Pepperdine, ranked second in the WCC, fought back with long rallies. A five-point streak put them above USD 10-8. After that, a 13-4 run from the Waves gave Pepperdine a bigger lead, 23-12. USD scored three more, but the Waves took the set 25-15. BayLea Sparks and Beach tied the first set’s stats with three kills each, Ryann Knuth owned the team-high 11 total attacks, all four of the assists belonged to Kylie Munday, and Lauren Lynch executed six digs.
Set Two
A four-point streak early in the second set gave the Toreros a much-needed 6-1 lead. Pepperdine responded with their own five-point streak, tying USD at six, nine, 11, and 13. The Toreros eventually took a 15-13 lead. Point trading continued, going back-and-forth eight times before a kill by Beach broke the pattern to give USD a 20-17 lead. The Waves then went on a 5-0 run to put Pepperdine up 22-20. The Toreros tied the set at 22. Unfortunately, a kill, a service ace and an attack error from USD gave Pepperdine the second set, 25-22.
“Try to stay present in the moment for each play so that you can reset,” said head coach Jennifer Petrie about the close set. “Let those live and die, stay focused on the next one and not try to marinate on what happened in the past, but front load what you need to do for the future.”
USD women’s volleyball. Photo credit: Miguel Mejia/Miguel Mejia Photography
Set Three
Desperately trying to avoid a sweep, the two teams tied eight times before USD was able to take an 11-8 lead. The three point lead stuck, and before long USD was still up 16-13. Pepperdine then went on a 5-0 scoring run, three of which were service aces, tying USD at 16 before taking a 18-16 lead. The Waves continued scoring, now leading 24-20. The Toreros scored three consecutive points, down 24-23. Unfortunately, Pepperdine took the final set with a quick kill, 25-23.
Kierstyn Barton led the stats at the end of the match with 11 kills, Knuth with 26 total attacks, Munday with 25 assists, and Lynch with 15 digs.
“I know that this is going to make us even more gritty,” said Lynch postgame. “I want to go undefeated in the rest of conference. It's commitment in the gym, practice even harder, and push ourselves even harder.”
USD’s Lauren Lynch. Photo credit: Miguel Mejia/Miguel Mejia Photography
Up next for the Toreros is a series of four away games, all of which can be watched on ESPN+. They will return to Jenny Craig Pavilion on Oct. 29 for a 7p.m. “Dig Pink” match against San Francisco.
Top photo: Lauren Lynch. Photo credit: Miguel Mejia/Miguel Mejia Photography
