Pepperdine to Host Saint Mary's and Pacific this Week
9/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Game Notes
MALIBU, Calif. — This week, the Waves host both Saint Mary's and Pacific to continue West Coast Conference play. Pepperdine currently holds a 10-5 overall record and an even 1-1 record within conference competition.
MATCH #16 — Thursday (October 1) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (10-5) vs. Saint Mary's (5-8) at 7 p.m.
MATCH #17 — Saturday (October 3) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (10-5) vs. Pacific (11-3) at 1 p.m.
LIVE — The match will have both live stream and live statistics available on PepperdineSports.com/WavesVolleyball.
SOCIAL MEDIA — Follow @WavesVolleyball on Twitter for updates and check out PepperdineSports.com and Facebook (/WavesVolleyball) for releases and more information.
OPPONENTS — Saint Mary's comes to Malibu with a 5-8 overall record and 0-3 conference record after losing the last six matches in straight sets. The Gaels opened West Coast Conference play last Thursday, falling to Portland and Gonzaga on the road and then to Santa Clara at home. The team has a .216 attack percentage after tabbing 524 kills and 181 errors in 1589 attempts. Lindsey Knudsen leads the offensive with 2.8 kills/set (122 kills-47 errors-409 attempts) and Alexis Salmons leads the defensive with 1.0 blocks/set including five block solos and 39 block assists. Pacific has amassed an 11-3 overall record and 2-1 output in WCC play. The Tigers average 14.3 kills/set after tabbing 730 kills and 290 errors in 1747 attempts, amassing a .252 success rate on the attack. Lexi Elman has well-surpassed her teammates with 5.2 kills/set (266 kills-99 errors-615 attempts) and a .272 hitting percentage. Kimmy Whitson leads in the playmaker duties with 585 assists, averaging 11.5 assists/set.
LAST MATCHES — On Tuesday against San Diego, the Waves played an excellent match, eventually falling 2-3. As a team, Pepperdine amassed a .280 hitting percentage (61 kills-16 errors-161 attempts), 70 total digs and 10.5 total team blocks with one solo and 19 block assists. Freshman outside hitter Heidi Dyer posted a career-high 19 kills (2 errors-53 attempts) and tabbed a .321 hitting percentage. Senior setter Becca Strehlow orchestrated the offense with 51 assists, 16 digs, five total blocks and three kills. Freshman middle blocker Tarah Wylie and junior middle blocker Brooke Honeycutt also came out big on the offensive for the Waves with 10 and nine kills apiece. Wylie also tabbed a .474 (10 kills-1 error-19 attempts) success rate on the attack with seven block assists and Honeycutt posted a .600 hitting percentage (9 kills-0 errors-15 attempts). Last week, the Waves opened WCC competition with a thrilling five-set victory over PCH-rivals Loyola Marymount, winning this season's first Wells Fargo PCH Cup victory. Junior outside hitter Gaby Palmeri led the Waves with 14 kills (2 errors-25 attempts) and a high .480 hitting percentage. Strehlow was as consistent as ever with 39 assists, seven kills, 12 digs, three block assists and one service ace. Senior libero Lara Dykstra led the team with 24 digs and junior middle blocker Olivia Okoro led Pepperdine with four block assists. Seven Waves collected six or more kills in the match.
ROSTER — Seniors Becca Strehlow, Lara Dykstra and Olivia Okoro, along with junior Gaby Palmeri are among those instrumental in the Waves success. Setter Strehlow, leads the team with 10.4 assists/set after posting 572 assists so far this season. She also averages 1.3 kills/set (72 kills-15 errors-146 attempts), nine service aces, 2.0 digs/set and 0.8 blocks/set in an all-around standout performance for Pepperdine. Libero Dykstra is key in the back court with 4.6 digs/set (254) for the Waves. She also leads the team with 0.4 aces/set (20) and is second with 1.0 assist/set (52). Middle blocker Okoro and outside hitter Palmeri are also part of a threatening Waves' offense with Okoro amassing 1.6 kills/set (61 kills-18 errors-135 attempts), a .319 hitting percentage and 0.8 blocks/set on the defensive side and Palmeri tabbing 2.0 kills/set (104 kills-36 errors-286 attempts) and a successful .238 on the attack.
FRESHMEN — Freshmen Heidi Dyer, Tarah Wylie and Nikki Lyons lead the attack effort for the Waves, with outside hitter Dyer in front after averaging 2.8 kills/set (150 kills-46 errors-501 attempts). She has also added 0.5 blocks/set, 2.0 digs/set and a .208 hitting percentage so far this season. Middle blocker Wylie leads the team with five block solos and 56 block assists, averaging 1.1 blocks/set for the Waves. She also averages 2.7 kills/set (148 kills-39 errors-286 attempts), a .381 success rate on the attack and is second on the team with 12 service aces. Outside hitter Lyons posts 2.6 kills/set (130 kills-72 errors-377 attempts) and 1.9 digs/set.
HONORS — In four consecutive weeks, setter Becca Strehlow has 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 10-5 overall record and 1-1 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.
