The Waves capitalized on a dramatic difference in size to down UNC 3-0 (31-27, 30-26, 30-23) and to advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Despite being physically overmatched, the Tar Heels hung tough with No. 8 Pepperdine throughout the match.
UNC took a 24-21 lead late in game one, forcing a Pepperdine timeout. After the break, the Waves went on a 9-3 run and took the first game in large part because of UNC hitting mistakes.
After Pepperdine took an eight-point lead in the second game, UNC battled back to pull within one at 23-22.
But after another timeout, Pepperdine seemed to regain its focus. A pair of kills on consecutive points by Wave outside hitter Kate Wilkins put the game out of reach.
North Carolina led for the early part of the third game, but after the Waves tied the score at 15, they never looked back and coasted to a 30-23 victory in the clincher.
Holly Strauss -- playing through an ankle injury she reaggravated Thursday night -- and Krista Buchholz led the Tar Heels with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Laura Greene added 10 kills for the UNC, which finished the season with a 24-9 record.
While each team saw six players register a kill, the Waves were much more efficient with a .291 hitting percentage compared to UNC's .205.
The discrepancy was due in large part to Pepperdine's height advantage. Six Waves stood taller than 6-foot-1, the height of the tallest Tar Heels.
