GAME NOTES

MALIBU, Calif. -- The Pepperdine women's volleyball team heads to Tucson, Ariz. to compete in the Arizona Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Waves will face hosts Arizona, a team receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll, SMU and Alabama State at the McKale Memoria Center.

MATCH #4 -- Friday (September 2) at McKale Memorial Center - Tucson, Ariz. Pepperdine vs. SMU at 10 a.m.

MATCH #5 -- Friday (September 2) at McKale Memorial Center - Tucson, Ariz. Pepperdine vs. Alabama State at 5 p.m.

MATCH #6 -- Saturday (September 3) at McKale Memorial Center - Tucson, Ariz..: Pepperdine at Arizona at 6 p.m.

LIVE -- All matches will be streamed live. Go to pac-12.com/videos/university-arizona to find the stream. Live statistics will also be available on PepperdineWaves.com

SOCIAL MEDIA -- Follow @WavesVolleyball on Twitter for updates and check out PepperdineSports.com and Facebook (/WavesVolleyball) for releases and more information.

PEPPERDINE ASICS CLASSIC -- The Waves went 2-1 to start the season in Malibu last week after competing in the 19th annual Pepperdine Asics Classic against Rhode Island, Lipscomb and CSUN. In the 42 seasons of Pepperdine women's volleyball history, the Waves have won the first match on 29 separate occasions.

Pepperdine opened the tournament with a thrilling five-set comeback win over Rhode Island. After facing a 2-1 set deficit to the Rams, the Waves rallied back to win sets four and five. Then, later on day one, the Waves fell in a tough four-set loss to Lipscomb. The team closed out the tournament with another five-set victory in comeback fashion, besting CSUN. After splitting the first four sets, Pepperdine dominated the court in the fifth en route to a 15-4 win. The score ties the Pepperdine record books (rally scoring era) for least points given up in a fifth set. It was last accomplished in the 2004 season.

SOPHOMORE RETURNERS -- Last season, the Waves had a large and impacting freshmen class, including West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year and All-Freshman team honoree Tarah Wylie, as well as WCC All-Freshman teamer Heidi Dyer and fellow sophomore Nikki Lyons. These big hitters are back on the floor this season as starting sophomores. Dyer had one of the best first weekends of the team after posting her first career triple-double with 12 kills, 30 assists and 14 digs in the final match of the weekend against CSUN. She is one of only two players nationally to have earned a triple-double in the first week of the 2016 campaign. She also posted her 7th career double-double overall and first kills and assists double-double. She averaged 2.21 kills/set, 5.43 assists/set, 2.00 digs/set and 0.64 blocks/set for the Waves.

Wylie led the team with quite an output against CSUN on Saturday, earning 16 kills (one shy of her career-high) on a .483 clip (16-2-29). She also added four aces in that match. She opened the season with six blocks against Rhode Island and throughout the weekend, amassed 0.72 blocks/set, 2.21 kills/set on a .338 success rate, 0.29 aces/set and 0.50 digs/set. Lastly, Lyons led the team with 2.29 kills/set, posting a .282 hitting percentage on 85 swings. She added three aces, 0.21 aces/set, 2.21 digs/set and 0.29 blocks/set as well.

NEW SEASON, NEWCOMERS -- The transfers and freshmen made a key impact on the court for the Waves this past weekend. Freshman libero Hana Lishman led the team in digs, averaging 4.00 digs/set, and earned herself a spot on the Pepperdine Asics Classic All-Tournament Team. She had 22 digs alone in the first match against Rhode Island and through the weekend, collected 56 total digs, two aces and seven assists. Other freshmen to make large impacts for the team were Jasmine Gross and Hannah Frohling. Gross led the team with 1.25 blocks/set, picking up thre block solos and 12 block assists throughout the weekend. She also added a .321 hitting percentage after smacking down 1.83 kills/set. Frohling was a burst of energy after coming in late in the first match and played the rest of the weekend in a starting role for the Waves. She posted 2.15 kills/set and added 1.85 digs/set, 0.23 aces/set and 0.15 blocks/set.

Also instrumental to the Waves' successes were junior transfers, Maddie Dilfer and Ashley Harris. Dilfer averaged 5.07 assists/set and 2.57 digs/set through three matches. She posted on double-double in assists and digs against Rhode Island with 24 assists and 18 digs. Harris posted 1.50 kills/set and 0.36 blocks and digs/set.

BY THE NUMBERS -- As a team, the Waves amassed 12.64 kills/set, 11.50 assists/set, 1.00 aces/set, 15.79 digs/set and 1.86 blocks/set after the first week of competition. The team garnered a .226 hitting percentage after smashing down 177 kills with only 62 errors in 509 swings. Nikki Lyons leads the team with 2.29 kills/set after tabbing 32 kills and only eight errors on 85 total swings for a .282 success rate. Tarah Wylie and Heidi Dyer each average 2.21 kills/set. Wylie on a .338 hitting percentage, with 0.29 aces/set and 0.71 blocks/set and Dyer with 5.43 assists/set, 2.00 digs/set and 0.64 blocks/set. Also playing a role are Hannah Frohling and Hana Lishman. Frohling who has averaged 2.15 kills/set and 1.85 digs/set and Lishman who led the team with 4.00 digs/set.

ARIZONA WILDCATS -- Pepperdine holds an 8-7 record against Arizona, a team receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll, after going 3-3 at home, 2-2 on the road and 3-2 in a neutral setting. The most recent time the Waves and Wildcats faced off was during the 2012 campaign, when the Pepperdine defeated Arizona 3-2 at home. In the first week of competition, the Wildcats went 0-3, but faced tough competition with matches against 4th-ranked Wisconsin, 6th-ranked Hawai'i and Kansas State (another team receiving votes in the coaches poll). As a program, the Wildcats amassed 12.25 kills/set on a .196 hitting percentage, 11.58 assists/set, 0.58 aces/set, 14.17 digs/set and 2.33 blocks/set. Their opponents posted 12.75 kills/set on a .221 hitting percentage, 11.83 assists/set, 1.17 aces/set, 15.08 digs/set and 2.42 blocks/set.

SMU MUSTANGS -- This match marks the first time these two teams will go head-to-head. As a team, the Mustangs have a 2-1 record from the team's first three home matches. SMU produced 13.60 kills/set, 13.30 assists/set, 1.50 aces/set, 17.00 digs/set and 1.50 blocks/set. After tallying 136 kills and only 59 errors on 363 total swings, SMU has a .212 hitting percentage. Opponents hit at a .190 success rate after picking up 10.0 kills/set, and outblocked the Mustangs with 2.30 blocks/set and 23.0 total blocks after three matches.

ALABAMA STATE HORNETS -- This match will be the first time these two teams will face. In the first week of play, the Hornets went 1-3, winning the team's first match-up against North Carolina A&T in a 3-2 brawl, before falling in straight sets to Maryland Eastern Shore and Towson and in five-sets to Tennessee State. As a team, the Hornets averaged 9.75 kills/set on a .084 success rate, 8.81 assists/set, 1.25 aces/set, 11.19 digs/set and 1.75 blocks/set. The team allowed opponents 10.69 kills/set on a .198 hitting percentage, 9.69 assists/set, 1.31 aces/set, 11.88 digs/set and 1.53 blocks/set.

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. 52 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.