Women's Volleyball Hosts Gonzaga, Portland
10/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
GAME NOTESMALIBU, Calif. -- The Pepperdine women's volleyball team returns home to Firestone Fieldhouse this week, hosting West Coast Conference opponents Gonzaga on Thursday and Portland on Saturday. Last week, the Waves defeated Pacific in straight sets, crushing the Tigers three-WCC match winning streak.
MATCH #17 -- Thursday (October 6) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (7-9, 1-3 WCC) vs. Gonzaga (9-5, 2-2 WCC) at 7 p.m. (PT).
MATCH #18 -- Saturday (October 8) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. Portland (9-7, 2-2 WCC) at 1 p.m. (PT).
LIVE -- All matches will be streamed live on WaveCasts at TheW.tv. Direct links for all matches, including live statistics can be found on PepperdineWaves.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA -- Follow @WavesVolleyball on Twitter for updates and check out PepperdineSports.com and Facebook (/WavesVolleyball) for releases and more information.
SPIKE OUT CANCER -- In support of the breast cancer awareness initiative, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team along with Pepperdine Colleges Against Cancer, will have the annual Spike Out Cancer match against Gonzaga. The libero jerseys will be pink and the PCAC will be tabling in the lobby and providing literature and knowledge about the fight against breast cancer.
BY THE NUMBERS -- The Waves currently possess a 7-9 overall record and a 1-3 record within West Coast Conference play. As a team, the Waves are hitting .180 on the attack after producing 712 kills and 318 errors on 2,193 total swings in 62 sets played. Pepperdine posts 11.48 kills/set, 10.52 assists/set, 1.08 aces/set, 15.42 digs/set and 2.29 blocks/set on average. The Waves digs/set average ranks second among WCC competitors, while the team's total digs, total attacks and total blocks ranks third. Pepperdine also allows a .180 hitting percentage to opponents, which ranks 2nd in the conference as well.
SOPHOMORE RETURNERS -- The leadership on the court is heavily influence by the strong sophomore returners, including Heidi Dyer, Tarah Wylie and Nikki Lyons. Dyer leads the conference and ranks third nationally (of 14 players ranked) with five triple-doubles this season. She has also amassed three double-doubles, including two in assists/digs and one in kills/assists, six double-figure kill matches and seven double-figure dig matches after starting in all 16 matches and playing in 60 sets. She leads the team with 5.15 assists/set, while also amassing 2.12 kills/set on a .189 hitting percentage, 2.22 digs/set and 0.50 blocks/set.
Wylie puts up a strong defensive wall for the Waves, with 0.98 blocks/set on the season, including 59 total blocks with four total block solos. She also posts a .209 hitting percentage after posting 1.70 kills/set and leads the team with 0.32 aces/set after hitting the floor for 19 total aces in 60 sets played. Wylie has amassed one double-figure block match and three double-figure kill matches so far this season.
Lyons is a heavy hitter for Pepperdine, leading the squad with 2.22 kills/set, while adding 2.36 digs/set and 0.37 blocks/set in 59 sets played this season. She has totaled three double-doubles with kills/digs, along with five double-figure kill matches and seven double-figure dig matches.
NEW SEASON, NEWCOMERS -- Three freshmen have also stepped up to the table this season, including Hana Lishman, Hannah Frohling and Jasmine Gross. Lishman is the only Wave to have played in all 62 sets for Pepperdine this season, at the libero position. She leads the team with 3.63 digs/set after digging up 225 total attack attempts. She also adds 0.55 assist/set and 0.18 aces/set for the Waves after posting 34 assists and 11 total aces. Frohling leads the freshman class with 2.00 kills/set after putting up 122 total kills this season. She also adds 1.18 digs/set and 0.39 blocks/set. Gross is one of the biggest presences on the court for the Waves this season, denying opponents with a 1.20 block/set average after tallying 71 total blocks, including eight solos. She also adds 1.73 kills/set on a team-high .279 hitting percentage.
GONZAGA BULLDOGS -- In the 58 matches in which these two teams have faced off since 1987, the Waves have won 53. Pepperdine opened the competition between the two teams with a 10-match winning streak from 1987-91, before the Zags defeated the Waves in straight-sets in the 1992 season. The Waves longest winning streak came from 1997-2014, when the team won 34-consecutive matches, 25 of which were won in three sets. Last season, the two teams split the difference, with the Bulldogs winning the first match in Spokane 3-0, before the Waves returned the favor in Malibu with a 3-2 victory of the team's own. Gonzaga has gone 9-5 overall and 2-2 in WCC-play thus far this season after producing a .233 hitting percentage with 692 kills and only 253 errors on 1,884 swings after 52 sets played. The Zags average 13.31 kills/set, 12.40 assists/set, 1.10 aces/set, 14.44 digs/set and 2.42 blocks/set against opponents.
PORTLAND PILOTS -- The Waves hold an impressive 55-3 overall record over the Pilots, including a 28-1 record in Malibu and a 27-2 record on the road, dating back to the first-ever match-up between the two teams in 1987. To open the competition, the Waves went on a 10-match winning streak from 1987-91 before Portland won the team's first match 3-2 in 1992. From 1995-2015, Pepperdine went on a 41-match winning streak - a streak that the Pilots only broke in last year's 2015 season in Firestone Fieldhouse when the opposition won in a five-set bout. Portland has gone 9-7 overall this season, including a 2-2 record among WCC opponents. The Pilots put up 11.98 kills/set, 11.42 assists/set, 1.87 aces/set, 13.56 digs/set and 2.07 blocks/set after 62 sets played this season thus far. Overall, the offensive produces a .221 hitting percentage after amassing 743 kills with 281 errors on 2,092 total swings.
LAST WEEK: #11 BYU, PACIFIC & SAINT MARY'S -- Last week, the Waves went 1-2 against opponents, first falling in four sets to 11th-ranked BYU, before sweeping Pacific in straight-sets to break the Tigers three-match West Coast Conference winning streak. Pepperdine then closed out the weekend with a tough four-set loss to Saint Mary's on the road. To start the week at home on Tuesday with the Cougars, the Waves came out strong to win the first set 25-22, before falling in the next three 25-23, 25-18 and 25-21 to lose the match. Pepperdine posted a .216 hitting percentage and added 10.0 team blocks and three aces, while BYU put in a .235 attack output and added 14.0 team blocks and nine service aces. Heidi Dyer led the Waves with 14 kills on a career-high .480 hitting percentage. She completed her fifth triple-double of the season by posting 19 assists and 15 digs on top of her kill output. Tarah Wylie was also good for double-figure kills with 10 on a .273 success rate, and Jasmine Gross led the team with six total blocks including one solo.
In the second match of the week, the 3-0 domination over Pacific - a team currently sitting ranked #2 in the WCC - the Waves powered through the sets with 25-16, 26-20 and 25-23 set scores. Pepperdine produced a .276 hitting percentage on top of a 40-13-98 attack output, while allowing the Tigers a low .137 success rate on a 33-19-102 performance. The Waves also amassed 9.0 team blocks, seven aces and 44 digs compared to Pacific's 5.0 team blocks, four aces and 38 digs. Gross led the Waves again with six blocks, while Ashley Harris also produced six. Gross picked up a career-high and team-best .533 hitting percentage on top of nine kills with only one error in 15 swings. Nikki Lyons led the team with a career-best three aces.
In the last match of the week on Saturday, the Waves fell to Saint Mary's in four sets. The teams split the first two sets with the Gaels leading the effort on a 25-22 first set win, before the Waves took the second set 25-23. SMC then excelled in the third set 25-15 before closing out the fourth 25-18. Pepperdine posted 42 kills on a .119 success rate, while adding 8.0 team blocks. The Gaels, despite only posting 5.0 team blocks, produced a .144 hitting percentage with 53 kills and nine aces that edged out the Waves. Gross once again led the Waves with a .438 attack percentage, while adding three blocks. Dyer had a team-best nine kills, while adding a double-double with 19 assists and 11 digs, and Wylie picked up a team-high five blocks throughout the match. Jenna Tunnell also secured her first career double-double with career-highs 15 digs and 14 assists, while also posting an 8-0-18 output on the attack for a career-best .444 hitting percentage.
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 with the Waves, he led the team to their first 4-0 undefeated start since the 2009 season, as well as an Asics Classic victory. In his first complete year, Wong led the Waves to a 17-14 overall record and 8-10 record among West Coast Conference competitors. He 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.
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 41 seasons, including 13 trips to the NCAA Championships in the last 19 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, was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in December, 2015.
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. 50 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
