UPCOMING — The #19 Pepperdine women’s volleyball team (16-3, 4-3, tied for third place) begins the second half of West Coast Conference play at home this weekend with matches against #24 Santa Clara and Saint Mary’s. The Waves have the most ideal schedule as they work to get back into the WCC race, as five of their final seven conference matches are at home, and all of the matches against the WCC’s upper-level teams will be in Firestone Fieldhouse. The strength of the WCC this year is evident in the fact that four teams are nationally ranked and another is receiving votes. Thursday night is the annual "Dig for the Cure" match.

MATCH #20 — Thursday (Oct. 30) at Firestone Fieldhouse: Pepperdine vs. #24 Santa Clara (13-6, 4-3, tied for third place) at 7 p.m.

MATCH #21 — Saturday (Nov. 1) at Firestone Fieldhouse: Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary’s (14-6, 4-3, tied for third place) at 1 p.m.

RANKINGS — Two road losses against a pair of teams now ranked in the top 25 only cost the Waves four spots in this week’s AVCA top 25, as they fell from #15 to #19. For this week’s opponents, Santa Clara is #24 and Saint Mary’s is receiving votes.

SERIES INFO — Pepperdine is 32-22 all-time against Santa Clara and suffered a 3-2 loss on the road back on Oct. 4. At Firestone Fieldhouse, the Waves are 18-6 against the Broncos ... Pepperdine is 38-5 all-time against Saint Mary’s after a 3-2 win on the road back on Oct. 2. The Waves are 20-1 against the Gaels in Firestone Fieldhouse with the only loss coming in 2004.

DIG FOR THE CURE — Pepperdine will host the annual fundraiser "Dig for the Cure" during its match this Thursday vs. Santa Clara. Volleyball programs across the country will be raising money for the Susan G. Komen For The Cure Foundation and the fight against breast cancer. Fans are able to make pledges based on how many digs are made in the match. More information is available by clicking here.

ON THE WEB — Beginning in fall 2008, PepperdineSports.com has moved to a pay-per-view platform to watch live video of home events. An annual pass costs $69.95 and monthly subscriptions are also available. Live statistics will be available for all home matches free of charge, and links are provided to the home team’s website when the Waves are on the road. Go to the "Wave Casts" link toward the top of the page to find more information.

TICKETS — Single-match tickets to all home women’s volleyball games are $8 for adults, $5 for students and seniors and free to all Pepperdine students and faculty with a university ID.

LAST WEEK — The Waves lost a pair of road matches at #17 San Diego (25-20,20-25, 22-25, 25-19, 12-15) and San Francisco (24-26, 25-23, 16-25, 24-26). Rachel Lumsden had 18 kills against the Toreros and Julie Rubenstein had 21 against the Dons.

STAT LEADERS — As a team, the Waves are first in the WCC and 12th nationally in hitting percentage (.277) ... They’re also first in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.166), service aces (1.52) and digs (15.01) ... Julie Rubenstein is second in the WCC and 24th nationally in kills (4.18) ... Rubenstein is also second in the WCC in points (4.93), third in service aces (0.34) and 10th in hitting (.317) ... Stevi Robinson is second in digs (4.62) ... Kim Hill is sixth in hitting percentage (.350) and sixth in blocks (1.04) ... Kiah Fiers is fifth in assists (10.29) ... Rachel Lumsden is sixth in aces (0.28), 10th in kills (2.94) and 10th in points (3.63).

JULIE RUBENSTEIN — Senior outside hitter Julie Rubenstein (Camarillo, Calif./Oaks Christian HS) is well on her way to one of the top careers in Pepperdine history and should be a leading candidate for national honors in 2008. But she’s more than just a volleyball player. Rubenstein is a member of the NCAA’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and became the first person from Pepperdine to earn a spot on the national board. She was also voted Pepperdine’s Female Student-Athlete of the Year for 2007-08 and is a three-time WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll recipient, a two-time WCC All-Academic selection and a 2007 CoSIDA Academic All-District third team honoree. She was a member of USA Volleyball squads during the summers of 2006 and 2007. Rubenstein is a three-time All-WCC honoree (the last two years on the first team). She was fourth in the WCC in kills in 2007 (4.37 per set) and has 1,594 in her career (fourth all-time at Pepperdine). Quite impressively, she has played in all 393 sets of her four-year career. She earned tournament MVP honors at all four non-conference events, plus two WCC Player of the Week awards and a CVU.com National Player of the Week honor to start the 2008 season. Rubenstein is averaging 4.18 kills, 2.41 digs and 0.34 aces and is hitting .317 this season.

SETTERS — Junior Kiah Fiers (Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif./Peninsula HS) and sophomore Kealohilani Kea (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kamehameha HS) have been sharing time at the setter position lately ... Fiers had a brilliant first two seasons, as she was named the 2006 WCC Freshman of the Year and a 2007 All-WCC first team pick. However, she suffered a knee injury just prior to the 2007 NCAA Tournament and after undergoing surgery, she worked all summer toward achieving 100 percent health. She seems to be back to her usual self, as she is averaging 10.29 assists and made two all-tournament teams this fall ... Kea, a former state player of the year in Hawaii as a setter, did an exceptional job in the spring in Fiers’ absence. She is averaging 9.68 assists and has made three starts ... The duo has helped direct Pepperdine to a .277 team hitting percentage.

RACHEL LUMSDEN — Junior outside hitter Rachel Lumsden (Brea, Calif./Brea Olinda HS) averaged 3.23 kills over her first two seasons and is #1 in service aces per set (0.39) in Pepperdine history. She was named All-WCC honorable mention as a 2006 freshman and likely would have earned postseason honors last season had she not missed six matches due to injury. Lumsden is averaging 2.94 kills and 2.23 digs this season. She was named to three all-tournament teams during non-conference play.

CASSI CHAMBERLAIN — Senior middle blocker Cassi Chamberlain (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood HS) earned All-WCC honorable mention honors last season. She made the 2005 WCC All-Freshman team and is also a three-time WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll selection. Like Rubenstein, she is heavily involved in Pepperdine’s SAAC program. Chamberlain is averaging 1.59 kills and 0.66 blocks. She made two all-tournament teams during non-conference play.

TOP FROSH — Pepperdine’s three-person recruiting class, ranked #8 nationally by Volleyball Magazine and #9 by prepvolleyball.com, quickly began paying dividends. The three, who were all Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selections, won starting jobs for the Waves and have excelled ... Kim Hill (Portland, Ore./Portland Christian HS) was the nation’s #8 recruit and is starting at middle blocker. She is averaging 2.03 kills with a .350 hitting percentage and a team-best 1.04 blocks ... Outside hitter Lilla Frederick (Anaheim, Calif./Cornelia Connelly HS) played with the U.S. Junior National Team and was the MVP at the Junior Olympics this summer. She is averaging 2.31 kills and 2.64 digs ... Stevi Robinson (Hermosa Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) has also played with the U.S. Junior National Team. She starts at libero and is averaging 4.62 digs.

MORE VETERANS — Senior Caitlin Lawson (Walnut Creek, Calif./Carondelet HS) is a team captain and an incredibly versatile player who will likely have played just about every position by the time her career ends ... Sophomore Krista Friedman (La Verne, Calif./St. Lucy’s Priory HS) ended last year as the starting libero and averaged 4.27 digs per set over the final 10 matches of the 2007 season ... Sophomore outside hitter Kristen Seaton (Terre Haute, Ind./South Vigo HS) was expected to start on the right side after averaging 1.88 kills last year but is currently sidelined due to stress reactions in a foot. Her status is week-to-week for the time being.

NINA MATTHIES — Now in her 26th season as head coach of the Waves, Nina Matthies entered the 2008 season with a career record of 474-286 (.624), which includes 10 conference championships and 17 NCAA Tournament appearances. She is by far the WCC’s all-time winningest coach and is a nine-time WCC Coach of the Year. Matthies was among the world’s top players and is a member of the Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame. She won two AIAW national championships as a player at UCLA.

ROSTER — The Waves return four starters plus the libero and lost only two starters from the 2007 squad. A total of eight returning letterwinners and three newcomers bring the squad total to 11.

2008 HONORS — The Waves won all four of their pre-conference tournaments: Cal State Fullerton’s Radisson Suites Buena Park Volleyball Classic, the Oregon State Asics Classic, the Nevada AT&T Invitational and their own Pepperdine Asics Classic ... Julie Rubenstein went four-for-four winning tournament MVP honors, leading to two WCC Player of the Week honors (Sept. 2 and 8) and one National Player of the Week award from Collegiate Volleyball Update (Sept. 9). She was also named the WCC Player of the Month for September ... Rachel Lumsden made three all-tournament teams (Oregon State, Nevada and Pepperdine) ... Kiah Fiers made two all-tournament teams (Oregon State and Nevada) ... Cassi Chamberlain made two all-tournament teams (Cal State Fullerton and Pepperdine) ... Stevi Robinson made the Cal State Fullerton all-tournament team.

GREAT START — Pepperdine’s 13-match winning streak to open the season tied the best undefeated start in school history, matching the record set in 1997. The 13-match winning streak also ties as the fourth-longest in school history, after 25 in a row in 2003, 17 straight in 2002 and 15 consecutive in 1991. At 15-1 and 16-1, the Waves also had their best record in school history after 16 and 17 matches, respectively.

WCC PRESEASON POLL — The WCC should have a very close finish if the coaches’ preseason vote is correct. Pepperdine, San Diego and Santa Clara were all within three points of each other, and both the Waves and the Toreros had three first-place votes apiece. The predicted order of finish went San Diego, Pepperdine, Santa Clara, a tie between Saint Mary’s and San Francisco, Loyola Marymount, Gonzaga and Portland.

RULES CHANGES — Fans may want to take note of a few rules changes for 2008. The NCAA has decided that games will be now known as sets. And, to bring the collegiate game more in line with the international game, sets one through four will go to 25 points instead of 30.

VOLLEYBALL HISTORY — The Pepperdine women’s volleyball program is synonymous with the word excellence, as the Waves are a perennial national power. The Waves have advanced to postseason play 24 times in 33 seasons, including 10 trips to the NCAA Championships in the last 11 seasons. Pepperdine’s best finishes in recent years came when the team made the regional final of the 2002 NCAAs, and then in 2003 when the Waves posted 27 victories (most in the Nina Matthies era).

2007 RECAP — It was a year that would be considered good for most teams: 18-11 overall, 9-5 for third place in the WCC and a first-round NCAA Tournament appearance. But there were a few costly losses along the way that hurt the Waves’ hopes for a WCC title and their eventual NCAA Tournament seeding. Julie Rubenstein, Kiah Fiers and Lecca Roberts made the All-WCC first team and Cassi Chamberlain and Kayla Walker were honorable mention.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE — Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won a total of nine NCAA championships in five different men’s sports — one of just 14 schools to have accomplished this feat. Of the 14, Pepperdine is the only non-BCS school and has by far the smallest enrollment. The majority of Pepperdine’s teams are ranked nationally year after year and compete for conference and national titles.

UP NEXT — The Waves are at home for the second consecutive week when they host local rival Loyola Marymount on Thursday, Nov. 6.