Women's Volleyball to Host Gonzaga, Portland
11/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Game Notes
MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball squad returns home this week after two big West Coast Conference road wins this past weekend. First, the Waves will host Gonzaga on Thursday before closing out the weekend with Portland on Saturday. Pepperdine collected a four-set triumph over Pacific last Thursday and rounded out the week by demanding a straight set victory over Saint Mary's on Saturday. With the wins, the Waves are 15-10 overall and an even 6-6 in WCC action.
MATCH #26 — Thursday (November 5) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (15-10, 6-6 WCC) vs. Gonzaga (14-10, 5-6 WCC) at 7 p.m.
MATCH #27 — Saturday (November 7) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. Portland (13-10, 3-8 WCC) at 1 p.m.
LIVE — Both matches will be streamed live on TheW.tv. Live statistics will also be available on PepperdineSports.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA — Follow @WavesVolleyball on Twitter for updates and check out PepperdineSports.com and Facebook (/WavesVolleyball) for releases and more information.
OPPONENTS — Pepperdine holds a 52-5 all-time record against the Zags currently after dropping the first match-up earlier this season in straight sets. Gonzaga enters the competition 14-10 overall and 5-6 within WCC play, ranking just under the Waves at No. 6 in the WCC standings this week. As a team, the GU averages 13.4 kills/set, 12.5 assists/set, 0.9 aces/set, 13.6 digs/set and 2.5 blocks/set this season. Savannah Blinn leads the team with 4.1 kills/set (349-125-781) and a .287 hitting percentage. Faith Smith and Lauren Joseph aid in setting duties with 6.0 and 5.0 assists/set respectively. Against Portland, the Waves have amassed an outstanding 55-2 overall record against the Pilots all-time, including a 3-1 victory earlier this season. UP has amassed a 13-10 overall record and a 3-8 record within the WCC, ranking 8th in the standings this week. As a team, the Pilots record 23.5 kills/set, 11.7 assists/set, 1.3 aces/set, 17.0 digs/set and 2.4 blocks/set on average. Emily Liger leads the team with 3.7 kills/set (312-96-969) and adds a .223 hitting percentage to the mix. Djurdjina Milovic leads the Pilots offensive with 10.4 assists/set.
LAST WEEK— Last week, the Waves collected two big WCC road wins after putting down Pacific 3-1 and Saint Mary's in straight sets. First, in the four-set victory over Pacific, Nikki Lyons led the team with 18 kills, and with nien errors in 34 attempts, picked up a .265 hitting percentage in the match. Heidi Dyer and Brooke Honeycutt also posted double-figure kills with 12 and 10 respectively. Honeycutt tabbed a .450 success rate ont he attack while putting up two block solos and two block assists as well. Tarah Wylie led the team with seven blocks, while tallying nine kills and two aces for the Waves. Becca Strehlow instructed the offense with 46 assists and 10 digs, while tabbing six blocks and three kills in the effort as well. Then in the straight-set domination of Saint Mary's on Halloween, Lyons once again led the attack with 13 kills. She picked up her 13th double-double of the 2015 campaign. Strehlow led again in assists with 30 and posted her 14th double-double with 14 digs as well. Lara Dykstra commanded the back row with 21 digs and Jenna Tunnell was good for six blocks and five kills in the effort.
FRESHMEN — Nikki Lyons, Heidi Dyer and Tarah Wylie all lead the Waves offensive attack this season. Lyons leads the team 3.0 kills/set after tabbing 257 kills and 135 errors in 692 attempts. Dyer has posted 237 total kills and 85 errors in 829 attempts for 2.7 kills/set and also posts 2.0 digs/set for the Waves. Wylie owns the middle of the net with 2.5 kills/set and is ranked 2nd in the WCC with an impressive .342 hitting percentage after only 66 errors in 468 attempts. She also leads the Waves with eight block solos and 94 block assists, averaging 1.1 blocks/set and is second on the team with 24 total service aces this season.
ROSTER — Pepperdine possesses an all-around strong team with seniors Becca Strehlow and Lara Dykstra and junior Brooke Honeycutt. Strehlow conducts the offense and is impressive in all categories. She averages 10.2 assists/set, 1.3 kills/set, 0.2 aces/set, 3.2 digs/set and 0.9 blocks/set for the Waves. Dykstra leads the back row with 4.4 digs/set on average this season, while also posting a team-high 0.3 aces/set at the service line. Honeycutt has broken out in the second half of the season, knocking down kills and putting up big blocks for the Waves. She averages 1.3 kills/set and 0.8 blocks/set for her team on average each match.
HONORS — In the first four weeks of competition, setter Becca Strehlow earned a spot on the All-Tournament team, most recently for her performance in the Wyoming Invitational. Also at the USC Invitational, Strehlow alongside middle blocker Tarah Wylie received All-Tournament accolades. At the Lipscomb Invitational, Strehlow and libero Lara Dykstra tabbed All-Tournament honors. After Strehlow's performance setting up the Waves' offense in week one, she earned the season's first WCC Player of the Week honors. She was also named to the Preseason All-WCC team and returns to the court for her senior season after garnering All-American honorable mention status after the 2013 campaign. Also, the 2015 recruiting class ranked No. 22 in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com.
WCC — Pepperdine currently boasts a 15-10 overall record and 6-6 West Coast Conference record. Along with Strehlow's preseason honors, the Waves were picked to finish seventh this season in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll. BYU tabbed the top spot with 79 points and seven first-place votes and Santa Clara picked up 69 points and three first-place votes for the two-spot. San Diego, Gonzaga and Loyola Marymount round out the top five heading into 2015.
Scott Wong — Pepperdine alum Scott Wong was named head coach in December 2014, becoming the fifth head coach in program history. In his first outing on the sidelines for the Waves last weekend, Wong led the team to their first 4-0 undefeated start since the 2009 season, as well as an Asics Classic victory. Wong was an assistant with the Waves' men's program from 2005-09 (and was part of the 2005 NCAA championship-winning team) before moving back to his home state of Hawaii and serving as associate coach with the Rainbows' women's squad for five seasons. He was also Hawaii's sand volleyball head coach. Wong was a three-time All-American with the Waves between 1998-01.
2014 SEASON — In Troy Tanner's only season as head coach (he resigned following the season for family reasons), the Waves went 12-18 and finished seventh in the WCC with a 7-11 mark. Samantha Cash, Katie Messing and Becca Strehlow each made the All-WCC honorable mention team.
ALL-TIME DIVISION I TOP 25 RANKINGS — PrepVolleyball.com recently ranked the All-Time Top 25 Division I Programs for women's volleyball and Pepperdine ranked No. 21. Since the first Waves season in 1975, the program has finished in the top 25 rankings 19 total times, including 16 final top 25 rankings on the AVCA coaches poll which began in 1981. The program has finished ranked top 10 on eight separate occasions.
INDOOR 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 27 times in 40 seasons, including 13 trips to the NCAA Championships in the last 18 seasons. Pepperdine's best finishes in recent years came when the team made the regional final of the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and again in 2011. Ten players have earned AVCA or Volleyball Magazine All-American honors a combined 19 times, while six players have been dubbed the WCC Player of the Year nine total times. Nina Matthies, who stepped down after the 2013 season, will be inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame this December.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE — Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I Championships in five different men's sports — one of just 17 schools to have accomplished this feat — and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 25 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks No. 52 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
