MALIBU, Calif. – Sophomore setter Whitney Bower’s career highs of 26 digs and eight kills helped No. 12 BYU women’s volleyball hand Pepperdine its first loss in a five-set thriller (24-26, 25-23, 19-25, 25-21, 15-13) at the Firestone Fieldhouse on Wednesday.

Bower filled the final box score with a stat line of 46 assists, 26 digs, eight kills on a .727 clip, four blocks and three aces. She is the first BYU player in the rally era (2001-present) to record at least four kills, 10 assists, 16 digs, two aces and three blocks in a single match.

Freshman outside hitter Erin Livingston led the Cougars with a career-high 16 kills. Sophomore opposite Kate Grimmer and senior outside hitter Taylen Ballard-Nixon both reached double-digit kills with 14 and 12, respectively. Ballard-Nixon matched her career high of 13 digs for her second double-double of the season.

Freshman libero Madi Allen earned her second collegiate double-double with a career-high 25 digs and 10 assists. Sophomore defensive specialist Grace Wee also set a career high in digs with 15. Senior middle blocker Kennedy Eschenberg and freshman outside hitter Leilani Dodson led the team with seven blocks apiece, marking a new career high for Dodson.

BYU (8-1, 7-1 WCC) finished the match with 94 total digs, the most in a single match since 2016. Both the Cougars and Pepperdine (7-1, 7-1 WCC) finished the night with 14 blocks, the most blocks by either team this season.

FINAL BOX SCORE

SET ONE
Two kills and an ace by Ballard-Nixon helped the Cougars to an 11-6 lead to open the first game. With Pepperdine surging, Livingston tallied three kills to keep BYU up 19-18. The two teams battled back and forth with a kill by Bower tying the match at 24-all before two-straight kills by the Waves ended the set, 26-24.

SET TWO
Back-to-back blocks by Dodson and Grimmer gave the Cougars a 4-1 edge to begin the second set. Three kills by Livingston and two kills by Eschenberg helped BYU maintain a three-point advantage, 11-8. Pepperdine came back to take a 22-21 lead late in the set. Dodson connected on two kills to fuel a 4-1 Cougar run to win the set 25-23.

SET THREE
The Waves jumped out to a 7-2 lead to start the third game and remained in control for the entire set. Dodson dropped two kills and an ace in an 8-2 run that brought the score within two points, 18-16. Pepperdine countered with a 7-3 run to close out the set, 25-19.

SET FOUR
Three kills by Livingston and an ace by Bower gave BYU a seven-point advantage in the fourth game, 12-5. The Waves rallied back to close the deficit to two points, 18-16. Grimmer connected on two kills to set up match point and a dump kill by Bower forced a fifth set, 25-21.

SET FIVE
Ballard-Nixon dropped an ace and Livingston added two kills to give the Cougars an 8-7 edge in the final set. Grimmer connected on a pair of kills and Bower won a joust at the net to maintain a one-point lead, 12-11. A kill by Livingston and a solo block by Eschenberg secured the comeback win, 15-13.

BYU women’s volleyball will remain on the road for a two-match series against San Francisco March 5-6 in War Memorial Gym. Both matches are scheduled to start at noon PST. Broadcast information will be released in the coming week.

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