MALIBU, Calif. – No. 12 BYU women’s volleyball lost its first match of the 2020-21 season, falling to Pepperdine in straight sets (20-25, 16-25, 19-25) on Tuesday at the Firestone Fieldhouse.

Freshman outside hitter Erin Livingston led the team with 10 kills on a .333 clip and sophomore outside hitter Abbey Dayton matched her career high of 10 digs. Junior setter Tayler Hifo totaled a career-high 14 assists while sophomore setter Whitney Bower finished with 13.

BYU (7-1, 6-1 WCC) entered the match hitting .329, the seventh-best percentage in the NCAA Division I. Pepperdine (7-0, 7-0) held the Cougars to a season-worst .178 hitting percentage while outblocking BYU 7-4.

Final Box Score

SET ONE
The Waves jumped out to an 8-2 lead over the Cougars to begin the first set. Pepperdine remained in control, extending its lead to 24-15. BYU scored five-straight points to close the gap to four points before the Waves secured the set, 25-20.

SET TWO
Trailing early in the second game, senior middle blocker Kennedy Eschenberg converted a pair of kills to tie the match at 10-all. A 9-1 Pepperdine run put the Waves up 19-11. Freshman outside hitter Leilani Dodson recorded two kills to cut the deficit to 23-16. Pepperdine held off the comeback, winning the set 25-16.

SET THREE
The Waves opened up the third set with an 11-4 lead. Three kills by Livingston and an ace by Bower brought BYU within a single point, 14-13. Pepperdine countered with a 6-2 run to regain control of the match. The Cougars failed to recover and dropped their first match of the 2020-21 season, 25-19.

BYU and Pepperdine will play the second half of the two-match series on Wednesday, Feb. 24. First serve at the Firestone Fieldhouse is set for 7 p.m. and the match will be broadcast on the WCC Network.

PROVO, Utah – No. 12 BYU women’s volleyball will face Pepperdine in a battle between undefeated teams Feb. 23-24 at the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, California.

The two matches are both scheduled to start at 7 p.m. PST and will be streamed on the WCC Network.

BYU Match Notes

No. 12 BYU Cougars (7-0, 6-0 WCC)

• BYU remained at No. 12 in the AVCA national poll for the third week in a row
• The Cougars moved to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in WCC play after sweeping LMU consecutive nights last week
• BYU ranks No. 3 in the NCAA with an average of 14.35 assists per set, led by sophomore setter Whitney Bower who ranks No. 14 in the nation with an assist average of 11.43
• The Cougars also rank No. 7 in hitting percentage (.329), No. 11 in kills per set (14.87) and No. 21 in aces per set (2.04)
• Sophomore opposite Kate Grimmer is 26th on the NCAA leaderboard with a .415 hitting percentage
• BYU leads the WCC in assists per set (14.35), hitting percentage (.329) and kills per set (12.87)
• Senior outside hitter Taylen Ballard-Nixon leads the league with 4.74 points per set and W. Bower leads the conference with 11.43 assists per set

Series Information

• BYU is 28-9 all-time against Pepperdine
• The Cougars have won 16 straight, having not lost to the Waves since 2011

Pepperdine Waves (6-0, 6-0 WCC)

• Pepperdine currently sits four spots outside the AVCA Top 25 with 21 points
• The Waves have won their first three two-match series in league play, defeating San Francisco, Saint Mary's and Pacific
• Pepperdine currently ranks No. 18 in the NCAA Division I with a .282 hitting percentage
• Freshman middle blocker Meg Brown is averaging a .444 hitting percentage to rank 19th on the NCAA leaderboard (No. 1 in the WCC) while Zelaya is 24th in the nation with an average of 11.09 assists per set
• The Waves lead the conference with 2.59 blocks per set

Broadcast Information – Feb. 23

• Time: 7 p.m. PST
• Live Stream: WCC Network
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Broadcast Information – Feb. 24

• Time: 7 p.m.
• Live Stream: WCC Network
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast