Pepperdine University Athletics

Led by legendary Pepperdine indoor volleyball head coach Nina Matthies, the 2012 Pepperdine sand volleyball team couldn't have had a better inaugural season. The Waves went 14-0 and won the inaugural AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championship, becoming Pepperdine's first women's national championship-winning team.
 
Matthies was instrumental in establishing beach volleyball, then called sand volleyball (name officially changed prior to the 2016 season), as an NCAA Division I sport. Her efforts paid off. Bringing over nine players from the indoor volleyball team, the Waves adapted to the outdoor game with relative ease. The 2012 squad featured four All-Americans in Lilla Fredrick, Kim Hill, Caitlin Racich and Summer Ross — the latter of whom went on to win the AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championship pairs title one day after helping Pepperdine win the team title. With its loaded roster and experienced coach, it was unsurprising that the Waves went 11-0 in dual-match play.
 
The Waves arrived at the AVCA National Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala. as the team to beat. Pepperdine won all three of its matches convincingly, first by shutting out College of Charleston, and then by blanking Long Beach State 3-0 in the semifinals. Meeting Long Beach State in the championship match, Pepperdine blanked them again with a 5-0 sweep to win the national title.