Pepperdine Plays at Loyola Marymount This Week
11/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
GAME NOTES
MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team will make the short journey to Los Angeles to take on West Coast Conference opponents and Wells Fargo PCH Cup rivals Loyola Marymount at noon on Saturday. The match will be the first of the Waves' final two regular season matches.
MATCH #29 — Thursday (November 17) at The Albert Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles, Calif.: Pepperdine (12016, 6-10 WCC) vs. Loyola Marymount (18-10, 9-7 WCC) at noon (PT).
LIVE — All matches will be streamed live on 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 PepperdineWaves.com and Facebook (/WavesVolleyball) for releases and more information.
WELLS FARGO PCH CUP — An annual all-sport competition between two local rivals that are separated by just 19.1 miles of scenic coastline, the Wells Fargo PCH Cup is in its seventh season of existence. Pepperdine won the first five cups. A home win is worth one point, a road victory is worth 1.5 points. In the seven years since the cup first began, the Waves have won six-out-of-seven years, including last season's win 11.5 to 7.5.
RECORDS WATCH — Freshman middle blocker Jasmine Gross has put in a stellar performance throughout her first season as a Wave. She ranks 1st in the West Coast Conference in blocks and blocks/set. She also ranks 21st in the nation with 138 total blocks; and 41st in the nation with 1.28 blocks/set. With four matches left on the docket in the 2016 campaign and Gross' seasonal blocks still rolling in, the Waves took to the record books once again. She currently ranks 3rd in the rally scoring era and 5th all-time with her 138 blocks on the season. With the 1.28 blocks/set, she ranks 5th in the rally scoring era.
The rally scoring record for total blocks in a single is held at 143 by Sophia Milo who set the record in 2005, while the blocks/set record is also held from Milo's '05 season at 1.38. All-time, the total blocks record is held by both Lesli Asplund and Barbara Stross with 158 blocks posted in the 1991 and 1992 seasons respectively. The blocks/set all-time record is held by Stross from the 1992 campaign when she tabbed 1.45 block/set through the season.
Earlier this season, Gross broke the all-time Pepperdine block record for both rally scoring and sideout scoring eras after posting 15 blocks in a single match against Pacific to lead the Waves to a five-set thrilling victory. The rally scoring record was previously held since 2003 when current Director of Operations Lyndsey Weisenberg (Hache') tabbed 13 blocks in five sets at Gonzaga. The sideout scoring and all-time record was 14 blocks in a single match, first set by Lesli Asplund against Santa Clara in 1991 and then tied by Carrie Romer against Colorado State in 1996.
BY THE NUMBERS — The Waves have a 12-16 overall record and a 6-10 WCC record at this point in the season, including an even 6-6 record at home, a 2-10 record on the road and a perfect 4-0 record on neutral courts. As a team after 110 sets played so far, Pepperdine averages 12.18 kills/set on a .190 hitting percentage, while posting 11.19 assists/set, 1.04 aces/set, 15.95 digs/set and 2.38 block/set against opponents. The team allows opponents a .183 attack output.
FRESHMEN IMPACT — The Waves are heavily influenced by freshmen performances this season, including leaders Jasmine Gross, Hannah Frohling and Hana Lishman. Gross has been an all-star at the net on defense, leading the Waves and the WCC and ranking 21st in the nation with 138 total blocks. She also leads the team and conference and ranks 41st in the nation with 1.29 blocks/set this season thus far. Frohling leads Pepperdine with 268 total kills, averaging 2.46 kills/set this season. Lishman is the team digger as the starting libero with 3.53 digs/set and 388 total digs tallied after the Waves 28 matches played.
SOPHOMORE RETURNERS — Sophomores are also instrumental for the Waves this season as Heidi Dyer, Tarah Wylie and Jenna Tunnell make an impact. Dyer leads the team with 5.27 assists/set, while adding 0.52 blocks/set, 2.55 digs/set and 1.94 kills/set for the Waves. Wylie is strong offensively and defensively with 0.92 blocks/set and 1.94 kills/set, while leading the Waves with 0.25 aces/set. Tunnell came in late in the season and has been starting ever since, amassing 3.69 assist/set, 1.15 kills/set, 1.83 digs/set and 0.41 blocks/set.
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT LIONS — All-time, Pepperdine holds a 53-22 record over the Loyola Marymount, including a 29-6 record in Firestone Fieldhouse. The two teams first faced in the 1976 season, when the Waves downed the Lions 3-0. The longest Pepperdine winning streak over the team was from 2006-12 when the Waves won 12-consecutive matches. Last season, the team's split the two matches played, with Pepperdine winning the first showdown in five-sets at home and the Lions taking home the second victory in Los Angeles in straight sets. Earlier this season, LMU bested the Waves with a straight-set victory in Firestone Fieldhouse. This season, the Lions have gone 18-10 overall and 9-7 within WCC play, including a 7-5 record at home and on the road and a perfect 4-0 record at neutral sites. After 101 sets played, the LMU averages 14.16 kills/set on a .259 attack output, 13.47 assists/set, 1.38 aces/set, 13.44 digs/set and 1.67 blocks/set this season.
LAST WEEK: SANTA CLARA & SAN FRANCISCO — The Waves went 2-0 last week in Firestone Fieldhouse, downing both Santa Clara and San Francisco in four sets to continue West Coast Conference competition. In the first match-up with Santa Clara, Pepperdine bested the Broncos 25-15, 20-25, 25-20, 25-21 en route to the win. The Waves posted a .231 hitting percentage with 52 kills, while adding six aces, 77 digs and 12.0 team blocks. Hannah Frohling led the team with 15 kills on a .344 hitting percentage. The team allowed a low .131 hitting percentage to the opposition. Heidi Dyer posted a double-double with 20 assists and 17 digs, while adding seven kills. Jasmine Gross produced nine kills on a team-high .474 success rate and Tarah Wylie led the team with six blocks. Jenna Tunnell, Ashley Morgan and Hana Lishman each posted two aces.
In the second win of the week over the Dons, the Waves posted a .277 hitting percentage with 55 kills, while allowing the opposition a .155 hitting output. Pepperdine was good for seven aces, 62 digs and 10.0 team blocks along the way. Frohling once again hit for double-figure kills with 17 and Wylie was good for a team-best .524 attack output on 12 kills. Gross led the effort with six blocks and added nine kills on a .500 success rate. Wylie, and Jaiden Farr tabbed two aces apiece. Tunnell closed up the night with a double-double after tabbing 17 assists, 10 digs and seven kills for the Waves.
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.
