The Cougs lost in straight sets to Pepperdine University (17-7, 11-2), on Saturday. This loss keeps Cougar Volleyball winless (0-5) against Pepperdine all-time.
The first set saw the Cougs fall to an early 8-5 deficit. The Waves went on to extend their lead 17-12 later on, with outside hitters Chloe Pravednikov and Maggie Beauer recording four kills each. Pepperdine went on to close out the set 25-18, winning on a Pravednikov service ace.
WSU Middle Blocker Lucie Blažková sends the ball over the net towards Pepperdine University Middle Blocker Ella Piskorz, Nov. 8
The Cougars were struggling offensively, hitting .083 along with seven attack errors. They also could not stop Pravednikov and Beauer — they had 10 kills combined at the end of the first set.
The second set saw the Cougs jump out to an early 6-4 lead. They were led by middle blocker Lucie Blažková who had a block and kill, and outside hitter Melina Christodoulou who recorded her third kill.
However, a stretch of rough service play killed the Cougs’ momentum. Blažková hit a service error that was the first point in a five-point Pepperdine run that was capped off with back-to-back aces by middle blocker Ella Piskorz.
Out of a WSU timeout, trailing 9-6, the Cougs went on a 8-2 run, led by outside hitter Eliana Ti’a, who had a block and recorded her fifth kill. However, the Waves came back and tied it back up at 19 apiece, before going on a 6-1 run to end the set 25-20.
The third set saw the Cougs trail 7-1 early on, and eventually 17-9. Just then, they went on an 8-1 run to put themselves back into the set, trailing 18-17. During that stretch, Blažková had three blocks, and the Cougs as a team had two aces.
From that point onwards, the set went back and forth until the Waves eventually prevailed 26-24 in extra points to complete the sweep.
WSU’s group celebration after taking a point against Pepperdine University, Nov. 8
The Waves ended the match with seven aces, which was tied for the most the Cougs have allowed in a three-set match this season. Wazzu ended the match with four. WSU also ended the match with a .087 hitting percentage — their second lowest of the season.
“[W]e struggled a little bit ourselves, but obviously Pepperdine is [a] very good defensive team, so that was tough,” Blažková said.
This loss puts them in fifth place in the West Coast Conference (WCC) and four matches behind first place. This means they will most likely not qualify for the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season. However, the Cougars are not calling it quits, and they want to reach their ceiling by the end of the season.
“[W]hen we finish [the season] with Santa Clara and San Francisco, we want to say, ‘yep, we’ve reached as good of a team as we possibly can be,’” Schroeder said. “And wherever that puts us in the rankings, it puts us. It’s competitive at the top of the conference, so let’s see what we can go do.”
The Cougs’ next match is Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m. against Gonzaga.
