UPCOMING — The #16 Pepperdine women’s volleyball program begins its 34th season of intercollegiate competition with three matches at the Radisson Suites Buena Park Volleyball Classic, hosted by Cal State Fullerton. The Waves have high hopes for 2008 and are aiming for their first West Coast Conference title since 2003 and their 11th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 12 years.

MATCH #1 — Friday (Aug. 29) at Titan Gym in Fullerton, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. UNC Greensboro at 4 p.m.

MATCH #2 — Saturday (Aug. 30) at Titan Gym in Fullerton, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. Delaware at 11 a.m.

MATCH #3 — Saturday (Aug. 30) at Titan Gym in Fullerton, Calif.: Pepperdine at Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m.

RANKINGS — Pepperdine is ranked #16 by Molten/Volleyball Magazine and is receiving votes in the CBS College Sports/AVCA poll.

OPPONENT INFO — Pepperdine is 14-2 all-time against Cal State Fullerton, although this will be the first meeting since the 1985 season ... These will be the first meetings between Pepperdine and both UNC Greensboro and Delaware.

SEASON OPENERS — Pepperdine has won four of the last five season openers with the only blemish coming in 2006. All-time in season openers, the Waves are 22-11 (.667).

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

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 2007-08 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 game) and has 1,297 in her career (fifth all-time at Pepperdine). Quite impressively, she has played in all 322 games of her three-year career.

SETTERS — Junior setter Kiah Fiers (Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif./Peninsula HS) 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 prior to the 2007 NCAA Tournament and is still working on getting 100 percent healthy. Sophomore Kealohilani Kea (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kamehameha HS), a former state player of the year in Hawaii as a setter, did an exceptional job in the spring and will handle the position in the meantime.

MORE VETERANS — Senior middle blocker Cassi Chamberlain (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood HS) earned All-WCC honorable mention honors last season ... 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 game (0.43) in Pepperdine history ... Senior Caitlin Lawson (Walnut Creek, Calif./Carondelet HS) is an incredible versatile player who will likely have played every position by the time her career ends ... Sophomore libero Krista Friedman (La Verne, Calif./St. Lucy’s Priory HS) ended last year as the starting libero and averaged 4.27 digs per game over the final 10 matches of the 2007 season ... Sophomore outside hitter Kristen Seaton (Terre Haute, Ind./South Vigo HS) will likely start on the right side after averaging 1.88 kills last year.

TOP FROSH — Pepperdine’s three-person recruiting class was ranked #8 nationally by Volleyball Magazine and #9 by prepvolleyball.com. Each of the three was a Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection is expected to make an impact: Kim Hill (Portland, Ore./Portland Christian HS) is the nation’s #8 recruit and will start at middle blocker ... 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 ... Stevi Robinson (Hermosa Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) has also played with the U.S. Junior National Team and will compete for the libero position.

NINA MATTHIES — Now in her 26th season as head coach of the Waves, Nina Matthies enters 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.

ON THE AIR — The Waves’ match at Oregon State on Sept. 7 will be televised on a tape-delay basis by FSN Prime Ticket. It will be shown on Sept. 11 at 9:30 p.m.

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.

PEPPERDINE 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 the Waves set a school record with 27 victories.

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 loss to USC. 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.

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.

UP NEXT — The Waves head north to take part in the Oregon State Asics Classic. Pepperdine will play Colorado State (ranked #17 in the AVCA preseason poll), Pacific and the host Beavers from Sept. 5-7.