MALIBU, Calif. – Senior outside hitter Roni Jones-Perry and No. 1 BYU women’s volleyball took down Pepperdine in three sets (25-15, 25-18, 25-21) Tuesday night at Firestone Fieldhouse.
With the win, head coach Heather Olmstead picked up the 100th victory of her career.
"We came out ready to go and kept working hard the whole match," Olmstead said. "Our middles did a great job of being available. We served tough and that helped us defensively."
Jones-Perry led the Cougars with 16 kills on a .583 clip to go with 10 digs. Lyndie Haddock-Eppich set the team with 39 assists while Mary Lake contributed 14 digs. Heather Gneiting put up six blocks and nine kills while Kennedy Eschenberg had seven kills in the win.
Pepperdine (8-5, 2-1 WCC) scored the first two points of the first set before Jones-Perry had three-consecutive kills, helping BYU (13-0, 3-0 WCC) to a 7-2 lead. The Cougars stayed ahead at 12-6 following a block from Eschenberg and Madelyn Robinson. A Kiani Moea’i ace made it 18-9, forcing a timeout from the Waves. Another kill from Jones-Perry then ended the set for BYU 25-15.
A kill from Robinson made it 7-4 at the start of the second set. Pepperdine then scored four-straight points to take an 8-7 edge. A pair of kills from McKenna Miller helped BYU go back up at 15-13, and a Gneiting and Jones-Perry block extended the advantage to 20-15. A Jones-Perry ace ended the set at 25-18.
A kill from Gneiting tied the third set at 5-5, and a Jones-Perry kill made it 9-9. The Cougars took a 15-14 lead following a block from Haddock-Eppich and Gneiting. A net violation from the Waves pushed BYU in front by three, 19-16, forcing Pepperdine to take a timeout. The Waves then went on a 4-1 run to even the set at 20-all. A Miller kill put the Cougars back ahead 23-21 before a block and Wave attack error gave BYU the set and match 25-21.
The Cougars return home to the Smith Fieldhouse Thursday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. MDT, when they play host to Gonzaga. The match will be streamed live on TheW.tv. Live stats can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.