Volleyball Heads to Islands to Face Hawaii
9/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 21, 2004
MALIBU, Calif. - For the fourth consecutive weekend the Pepperdine women's volleyball team will face stiff competition as it heads West for a pair of matches against the 6th-ranked and undefeated Rainbow Wahine in Honolulu, Hawaii.
This weekend the Waves will face their fifth ranked opponent of the young season as Hawaii enters with an 8-0 record and the nation's #6 ranking. The last time a Hawaii team lost to an unranked opponent was in 1997 when the Waves pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 victory in Hawaii.
Pepperdine (2-5) was left off the latest USA Today/CSTV top 25 for the first time since the 1998 season - a span of 81 weeks.
Katy Daly (San Clemente, Calif.) leads the Waves recording 3.89 kills per game, while senior Christina Hinds (Beverly Hills, Calif.) ranks 21st in the NCAA in digs per contest at 5.21.
This weekend will be a homecoming for a pair of Pepperdine athletes as Lecca Roberts and Kekai Crabbe both are native to the islands.
Both Friday and Saturday's matches can be heard over the internet at www.hawaiiathletics.com/broadcast.html. Saturday's match will also mark the second appearance of the season for the Waves on CSTV. The match is scheduled to air via tape delay Sunday at 3:00 p.m. (PDT). CSTV can be found on DirectTV at channel 610 and locally on Adelphia Cable channel 119. For a complete listing visit www.collegesports.com/getcstv.
This weekend's matches will serve as a final tune up before West Coast Conference action as the Waves will wrap up their 10-match road swing in the Bay area when it takes on San Francisco and Saint Mary's on Oct. 1 and 2, respectively.
ROAD TRIP WINDS DOWN This weekend marks the third-consecutive weekend the Waves have been on the road as the team travels to Honolulu, Hawaii for a pair of matches against the Rainbow Wahine. The road swing has not been kind to Pepperdine as it has amassed just a 1-4 record, while having a match cancelled due to Hurricane Ivan. This weekend's matches will mark the fourth and fifth matches during the 35-day road trip in which the Waves will face a ranked opponent. Thus far Pepperdine has played #15 Louisville, #14 Arizona and #9 Colorado State. Pepperdine will conclude its travels next weekend as it opens West Coast Conference action against San Francisco and Saint Mary's in the Bay Area.
TOP 25 CRAZY Pepperdine's 2-5 record is not what people have come to expect from the Waves over the past few seasons. But a closer look at the team and its first seven matches shows what is one of the toughest strength of schedules in the country. Pepperdine's first setback of the season came at the hands of then-top ranked USC which posted over 50 consecutive wins. That match was followed by a pair of matches against teams who have made their way into the top 15 in #14 Arizona and #15 Louisville. After a victory over Nicholls State, the Waves faced Colorado State which is ranked ninth in this week's USA Today/CSTV poll and an Ohio team which is receiving votes.
HINDS-IGHT Senior Christina Hinds continues to be one of the best defensive players in Division I. After earning the WCC Defensive Player of the Year award as a junior, the Beverly Hills, Calif. native is leading the conference in digs per game with 5.21 and ranked 19th in all of Division I (as of Sept. 12). In the season opener against Georgia Hinds tied the school record of 33 digs and is just 377 digs away from tying the all-time career record.
FROM THE SIDELINES The Waves continue to play the first-half of the season shorthanded but things are starting to look up as the team continues to return to full strength. Last weekend Breegan Mulligan returned to action for the first time in 2004 -- in a limited roll
• Ali McCourt had a cancerous area removed from her neck and is just getting back to the court for light workouts. (Day-to-day) • Breegan Mulligan underwent shoulder surgery over the summer and is expected to miss another 3-5 weeks. (Could see limited action) • Megan Scheenstra is recovering from a stress fracture in her fibula and is out another 1-3 weeks. (Could see action) • Lecca Roberts has been playing in matches but didn't see any practice time until Sept. 1. (Will play)
A FALL FROM THE RANKINGS After starting the season with a No. 9 ranking the Waves have fallen out of the USA Today/AVCA's top 25. This marks the first time since the 1998 season Pepperdine has not been ranked -- a span of 81 consecutive weeks.
WAVES PICKED TO LEAD WCC Pepperdine enters the 2004 campaign having received five of the eight total first-place votes by WCC coaches. Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount tied for second with 50 total points although Santa Clara had two first-place votes, while San Diego, and Saint Mary's round out the top five. San Francisco, Portland and Gonzaga occupied the sixth-eight spots.
TV TIME For the third time this season a Pepperdine match will be aired on television as Saturday night's match again Hawaii will be the feature match for CSTV's Sunday Night Spikes. The match will air via tape delay on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. (PDT). The Waves are 0-2 on the season in matches for TV having lost to USC (CSTV) and Colorado State (Fox Sports Net). Pepperdine is scheduled to make at least one more appearance at TV as its Oct. 24 match against Santa Clara will also air on CSTV.
TOURNAMENT HONORS Christina Hinds notched 57 (7.12 per match) digs at the Courtyard Marriott Marina del Rey Beach Classic in earning Most Outstanding Libero honors during the first weekend of action. Hinds then added a second all-tournament team honor to her name at last weekend's Four Seasons University Plaza Wildcat Classic in Tucson, Ariz. The 6-foot defensive specialist was just one of three Pepperdine players who were tabbed all-tournament in week one as Melissa Mehlhorn and Sophia Milo also received tournament awards.
FACES IN THE CROWD Reggie Miller of the NBA's Indiana Pacers was spotted taking in the Pepperdine season-opener against Georgia, while Mike Montgomery (Golden State Warriors Head Coach) was in attendance for Sunday's match against USC.
THE PROGRAM Entering its 30th season of intercollegiate competition, the Pepperdine women's volleyball program has compiled an overall record to date of 579-343. A total of 17 Pepperdine teams have posted 20-plus win campaigns, including last year's team that finished the regular season with a 27-3 overall mark. The Waves have earned a final national Top 20 ranking on 17 occasions since the program was instituted in 1975, earning a best-ever No. 4 ranking two seasons ago and a No. 6 final ranking last year. Last season, Pepperdine advanced to the Sweet 16. Pepperdine also advanced to the "Sweet 16" in 1999, 2001, and 2002. Pepperdine made its only appearance at the National Invitational Volleyball Championships in 1995. Since the WCC was formed in 1985, Pepperdine has captured ten of the 18 league championships and posted a cumulative conference mark to date of 227-39 (.912), including a conference record 47-match winning streak from 1988-92. Currently, the Waves have a 44-match winning streak going. The Waves captured their tenth WCC title in 2003 and finished the conference schedule undefeated for the ninth time. Pepperdine has recorded perfect WCC records in 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2003. The Waves went 14-0 in each of those seasons except for 1985 when they went 12-0.
HOME SWEET HOME During Matthies' head coaching tenure, Pepperdine is 192-57 (.767) in matches played at Firestone Fieldhouse. Pepperdine's all-time 27-year record in matches played at Firestone Fieldhouse stands at 251-87 (.743). Pepperdine, which concluded the 2001 season with a 13-0 home mark, finished the 2002 campaign with a 12-1 home record and in 2003 was 13-1.
FOR MORE INFORMATION For additional information on the women's volleyball program, or to arrange interviews with players and the coaching staff, please contact Michael Hawley at the Pepperdine Sports Information Office by calling (310) 506-4333.
SPORTS INFORMATION HOTLINE For updated information concerning Pepperdine athletics, including results and a schedule of upcoming events, please call the Pepperdine Sports Information Hotline at 310-506-7373. The hotline will be updated on a regular basis throughout the course of the 2004-2005 school year.
ON THE WEB For updated information concerning Pepperdine athletics on the Internet, including results and a schedule of upcoming events, please bookmark the following address: www.pepperdinesports.com
Nina Matthies In her 22nd season as Pepperdine's head coach, Nina Matthies has compiled a career record to date of 411-237 (.635). Matthies has directed the Waves to 14 NCAA Championships berths (1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 2001, 2002, and 2003), one National Invitational Volleyball Championships appearance (1995) and nine WCC titles (1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1999, 2001, and 2002. Additionally, Matthies has been tabbed the WCC "Coach of the Year" a league-record eight times--outright in 1985, 1991, 1998 1999, and 2002, and sharing the honor in 1990, 1991, 1998 and 2001. Matthies retired as an active beach player in September of 1992 following a highly acclaimed career, and was inducted into the California Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1994. Named the Women's Professional Volleyball Association's "Most Inspirational Player" in 1992, Matthies was honored in 1997 as one of the "20 Legends of Beach Volleyball." As a collegian at UCLA, Matthies was the team captain in 1974 and 1975 when the Bruins captured two national AIAW titles, and her jersey was retired in 1987. Matthies began her coaching career in 1977, serving as an assistant to Andy Banachowski at UCLA. Matthies worked in that capacity for six seasons, helping the Bruins post a cumulative record of 192-64 (.750), before assuming the head coaching position at Pepperdine prior to the 1983 campaign.
