NOTES

MALIBU, Calif.: - The Pepperdine men's volleyball squad continues the 2016 campaign this week at Firestone Fieldhouse with another set of exhibition matches against British Columbia on Wednesday (October 6) and Friday (October 8), at 3 p.m. The Waves will then open the regular season with the team's first official match-up of the new year on Sunday (January 10) against Concordia-Irvine at 5 p.m. Pepperdine opened exhibition play last weekend against Saskatchewan, winning both matches in straight-set fashion.

MATCH 3 (Exhibition) - Wednesday (January 6) at Firestone Fieldhouse - Malibu, Calif.: No. 11 Pepperdine vs. British Columbi (11-7, 8-4 CWUAA) at 3 p.m.

MATCH 4 (Exhibition) - Friday (January 8) at Firestone Fieldhouse - Malibu, Calif.: No. 11 Pepperdine vs. British Columbi (11-7, 8-4 CWUAA) at 3 p.m.

MATCH 1 (Regular Season) - Sunday (January 10) at Firestone Fieldhouse - Malibu, Calif.: No. 11 Pepperdine vs. Concorida-Irvine (4-0) at 5 p.m.

COVERAGE - Can't make it out to the match? No problem! PepperdineSports.com offers a wide variety of FREE options to follow along with all your favorite teams. WaveCasts broadcasts all home matches for free on your computer or mobile device. Veteran play-by-play announcer Al Epstein will once again serve as the voice of Pepperdine volleyball in 2016. Links to any available live stats, video and audio can always be found by clicking on a particular event on the men's volleyball schedule page at PepperdineSports.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA - Follow men's volleyball on Twitter and Facebook, @PeppVolleyball. Stay tuned into all Pepperdine Athletics on Instagram, @PepperdineWaves, and follow the Waves on YouTube for match highlights and special features.

TICKETS - Admission is free for Pepperdine students, faculty and staff with a valid Pepperdine ID. Call the Ticket Office at (866) WAVE-TIX for more information.

LOOKING AHEAD - After the first regular season match-up against Concordia on Sunday, the Waves hit MPSF competition the following week with back-to-back matches against No. 7 Hawai'i on Saturday (January 15) and Sunday (January 16) at 7 p.m.

THE WAVES - The Pepperdine offensive, after the first week of exhibition play, is led by sophomore Colby Harriman who posted 3.67 kills/set after smashing 22 kills and only eight errors in 46 attempts for a .304 hitting percentage. He also amassed three service aces, three digs and two block assists on the weekend.

Next, sophomore David Wieczorek was good for 3.50 kills/set after putting down 21 kills and only two errors in 31 attempts. The outside hitter earned a .613 percentage on the attack, while also delivering five block assists, seven digs and two aces to the opposition. Junior Joshua Stewart led the Waves with 13.00 assists/set after dishing out 78 total assists in six sets played. He also garnered 1.33 digs/set and 0.50 blocks/set for Pepperdine. Sophomore Weston Barnes was also key on defense, leading the team with 1.50 digs/set and nine total digs.

Seniors Matt Tarantino and Tommy Carmody, and junior Mitchell Penning were all also instrumental in the Waves' success. Tarantino led the Waves with four aces in the first match alone, tying a career-high performance. He also produced 3.00 kills/set, a .360 hitting percentage and two blocks. After joining the squad at semester, Carmody stepped up big for the team, posting 2.00 kills/set, an impressive .647 hitting percentage after only one error in 17 attempts and 0.83 blocks/set for the Waves. Penning led the team with 1.00 blocks/set after aiding the defense with six total block assists. He also tabbed 1.83 kills/set and a .643 hitting percentage towards the wins.

THE WAVES LAST WEEK - Pepperdine opened the 2016 season with two exhibition matches against Saskatchewan (Canada), defeating the Huskies in two straight-set showdowns. In the first match on Saturday afternoon, Pepperdine picked up the first win of 2016 with 25-20, 25-21 and 25-20 results. The team produced a .394 hitting percentage with 39 kills and 13 errors in 66 attempts, while also earning nine aces, 12 digs and 14 total blocks.

David Wieczorek led the Waves with 11 kills, and with only one error in 13 attempts, garnered a career-high .769 hitting percentage. He also tied for the team high's with three block assists and three digs all day. Matt Tarantino had a day with nine kills and a tied career-high four aces, while helping the effort with a solo block and block assist. Colby Harriman posted eight kills, two aces and two blocks and Tommy Carmody was good for six kills, a .455 hitting percentage and three blocks for the Waves. Joshua Stewart led in play-making duties after delivering 35 assists.

Then, in the second match-up against Saskatchewan on Sunday afternoon, the Waves battled it out to a 28-26 decision in the first set, before securing the straight-set win with 25-23 and 25-17 results. The Waves tallied a .523 hitting percentage after amassing a powerful 54 kills and only nine errors in 86 attempts. The team also earned two aces, 22 digs, 10 total blocks and 51 successful serve receptions.

Harriman led the effort with 14 kills, and with only two errors on 26 attempts, amassed a .462 hitting percentage. He also posted one ace and 14 serve receptions for the Waves. Wieczorek and freshman Michael Wexter also produced heavily on offense, with 10 kills apiece. Wieczorek tabbed a .500 hitting percentage after tallying only one error in 18 attempts; and added one ace, two assists, four digs, two blocks and 20 big serve receptions. Wexter came in off the bench for his first showing as a Wave out of high school, delivering a .533 hitting percentage after only two errors on 15 attempts for Pepperdine. Stewart once again led the Waves by giving out 43 assists, and also picked up five digs and two blocks. Mitchell Penning led the team with three blocks, while adding seven kills and a .500 percentage on the attack and Weston Barnes led the team with seven digs.

OPPONENT NOTES: BRITISH COLUMBIA - British Columbia is currently 11-7 overall and 8-4 within CWUAA competition after beginning the 2015-16 season in September. Ivan Brar leads the team's offense with 2.73 kills/set after smashing down 120 kills and 62 errors in 297 attempts. He has also posted 0.80 blocks/set after stopping the opposition's offense with six block solos and 29 block assists. Alex Russell leads UBC's defense with 1.48 blocks/set after handing out 10 block solos and 55 block assists on the season thus far. He has also put up 2.30 kills/set after posting 101 kills and 19 errors in 188 attempts for a .436 hitting percentage. Byron Keturakis leads the team with 8.07 assists/set and 323 total assists, while also posting 12 total service aces and 2.03 digs/set this season.

OPPONENT NOTES: CONCORDIA-IRVINE - Concordia has played four matches so far this season, picking up a 4-0 record after competing in three Canadian match-ups and one match against University of Charleston. The team has won all four in straight-set fashion. Devin Ross, Spencer Land and Timothy Moses lead the team's offensive with 20, 19 and 18 kills apiece. Ross has posted 3.33 kills/set and a .342 hitting percentage; Spencer has amassed a .457 hitting percentage and 2.38 kills/set, while also leading the team with 1.25 blocks/set and 10 total blocks on the season; Moses has picked up a .484 hitting percentage after delivering 2.57 kills/set. Cristian Rodriguez leads the team with 8.20 assists/set and 82 total assists and Joseph Pillon helped the effort with 5.11 assists/set and five total aces.

2016 AWARDS - Senior Matt Tarantino was tabbed an Off The Block/Springbak, Inc. Preseason Second Team All-American selection and junior Mitchell Penning earned a spot on the honorable mention squad. The Waves were picked No. 7 on the MPSF Preseason Coaches Poll, and earned the No. 11 spot on the AVCA Top 15 Preseason Coaches Poll to start the season.

2015 AWARDS - Graduates Josh Taylor and Matt West were named to the AVCA All-American First Team, and Parker Kalmbach earned second team honors. The Waves led the MPSF with six All-MPSF selections: Josh Taylor, Matt West and Parker Kalmbach were placed on the first team, while Matt Tarantino and Brennan Anderson snagged second-team acclaim, and Scott Rhein picked up an honorable mention. Off the Block blog announced Matt West as the co-winner of the Lloy Ball Award, along with USC's Micah Christianson, going to the top setter in the NCAA. Parker Kalmbach was a finalist for the Bryan Ivie Award (best opposite). Josh Taylor was a finalist for the Karch Kiraly Award (best outside hitter), with Penn State's Aaron Russell taking top honors.

VOLLEYBALL HISTORY - Pepperdine has won five NCAA men's volleyball championships, second only to UCLA. The Waves have won the MPSF Tournament three times and have won or shared 10 regular-season conference titles. Pepperdine has won either an MPSF regular-season or tournament title (or both) in six of the last 15 seasons. The Waves have finished in the top six in the final AVCA poll in 16 of the last 18 seasons. Pepperdine student-athletes have won national player of the year honors nine times and All-American accolades 81 times. A Pepperdine alum has competed for the U.S. at the Olympics every time since 1984 (Sean Rooney won gold in 2008).

Marv Dunphy - Now in his 33rd season as head coach of the Waves, Marv Dunphy has time and again proven himself to be one of the top teachers in the sport. He has directed Pepperdine to four NCAA championships, each in a different decade (1978, 1985, 1992, 2005). He was the 2005 National Coach of the Year and is a three-time MPSF Coach of the Year. He entered the 2016 season with a career record of 589-254 (.699). Dunphy has long been involved with USA Volleyball, having been part of the coaching staff at six Olympics, including head coach of the 1988 team and consultant coach for the 2008 squad, both of which won gold. Dunphy, along with David Hunt and Joe Trinsey, were on staff when the U.S. Women's National Team won their first-ever gold medal at a major event (including the Olympics), after winning the 2014 FIVB World Championships. He has been inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame (1994), AVCA Hall of Fame (2009) and the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame (2010).

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.