LOS ANGELES – LMU played #25 Pepperdine tight on Friday night, losing to the Waves by two twice and three the other time. Pepperdine took the match, 3-0 (33-31, 25-22, 25-23), but had to work to fend off the Lions.
Emmelyn Walters opened the game with a kill and followed up with a block paired with
Audrey Klemp to give LMU the early 2-0 lead. Neither team held more than a two-point lead until Pepperdine went ahead 22-19, forcing the Lions to call timeout. LMU responded with the next three points coming back onto the court with
Megan Rice and
Rose Booth recording kills to sandwich another Walters block. LMU fended off set point with a kill and an ace by Klemp and put themselves in a position to close it out ahead, 25-24. The Waves fought off seven set points before scoring the last three points of the game and taking the opener. The Lions only committed four errors in the set for a team-best .357 hitting percentage.
With the second set tied at 5-all, LMU used five unanswered points to take a 10-6 lead behind the serve of Klemp. Pepperdine used a run of their own later in the set, scoring six straight to take a 19-14 lead. LMU chipped away at the deficit bringing it within two points on four occasions but could not even the score back up as the Waves took a 25-22 win.
LMU led early in the third set, 9-8, on a kill by Walters, but Pepperdine rattled off the next eight points to take a sizable 17-8 lead. The Lions remained down by nine at 20-11 but used a 11-3 run to climb right back into it. LMU's run included five unanswered points after
Isabella Bareford returned to the court after missing time following a collision with the scorer's table going after a ball.
Megan Rice was able to fend off one set point with a kill to make it 24-23, before Pepperdine closed out the match.
The strength of LMU came on the defensive side with 12.0 blocks compared to 2.0. Klemp led the team with 6.0 blocks, while Walters added 5.0 and Booth and
Jacquelyn Moore each contributed 4.0 each.
Three Lions recorded double figure kills as Rice led the team with 13, Klemp followed with 11, and Booth added 10 of her own. Bareford recorded a double-double with 28 kills and 12 assists.
The PCH Cup was LMU's only game this week, but the homestand continues as LMU hosts Pacific and Saint Mary's next week.
