Oct. 17, 2009

Box Score

MALIBU, Calif. -

LMU (9-10, 0-5) dropped its seventh consecutive match on Saturday night, swept by cross-town rival Peppperdine (11-7, 4-1), 25-13, 25-14, 25-18, in West Coast Conference play. With the victory, Pepperdine earned a point in the PCH Challenge standings to go ahead 2.5-1.5 overall.

Sophomore middle blocker Kim Hill had a match-high 10 kills to help the Waves to the lopsided victory. Pepperdine has now won four straight conference matches and has climbed back into a tie for first place in the WCC. Hill also hit .471 (10-2/17. Senior setter Kiah Fiers had five kills on seven swings (.714) to go with her 29 assists. Sophomore libero Stevi Robinson provided match highs of 16 digs and four service aces.

The Lions, who were outhit by Pepperdine, .280 to .113, also saw Pepperdine post eight service aces to none for LMU. Freshman Alaina Bergsma once again led the Lion attack with seven kills, four of which came in the second set. Sophomore Alesha Young passed-out 18 assists as the Lion setter.

Pepperdine never trailed in the first set. Tied 2-2, the Waves took the lead for good after two straight kills by Hill and one by Caitlin Racich. Robinson later had two consecutive service aces to make it 9-4. A 6-0 run was aided by Rachel Grochmal's two kills, making it 15-6. The Waves took their first double-digit lead at 18-8 en route to the easy win. Hill had five kills on five swings to lead Pepperdine, which had a .258 to .065 edge in hitting.

LMU took its first lead of the match at 1-0 in the second set, but Adelhelm had a kill, block assist and service ace as Pepperdine scored five straight points and nine of the next 10. After falling behind 9-2, the Lions eventually closed within four points at 15-11, highlighted by three Bergsma kills, forcing a Wave timeout. The break served its purpose as Hill and Racich combined on a block and both had kills as part of a 6-0 run that made the score 23-12. The Waves had a .226 to .031 hitting edge in the second set.

After the Lions took a couple of one-point leads early in the third set, a service ace by Grochmal and a kill by Hill made the score 5-3 and LMU never evened it up again. The lead grew to 13-6 after consecutive kills by Fiers, Frederick and Grochmal. LMU got no closer than four points the rest of the way. Both teams had their best hitting performance in the third set, with the Waves holding a .355 to .235 advantage.

The Lions return home next weekend as they host Santa Clara and San Francisco to conclude the first half of WCC play. The Lions will meet the Broncos at 7 p.m. on Thursday.