#1 Waves Face Four Opponents this Week
3/26/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. - After a pair of rain outs last week, the top-ranked Pepperdine beach volleyball program gets back into action beginning with a Tuesday matchup at #2 UCLA and closing with the Waves hosting #16 Loyola Marymount, #19 Saint Mary's and #4 USC on Saturday.
DUAL 18 - Tuesday (March 27) at Sunset Canyon Recreational Center in Westwood, Calif.: No. 1 Pepperdine vs. #2 UCLA at 3 p.m.
DUAL 19 - Saturday (March 31) at Zuma Beach Malibu, Calif.: No. 1 Pepperdine vs #16 Loyola Marymount at 9 a.m.
DUAL 20 - Saturday (March 31) at Zuma Beach Malibu, Calif.: No. 1 Pepperdine vs. #18 Saint Mary's at 11:20 a.m.
DUAL 21 - Saturday (March 31) at Zuma Beach Malibu, Calif.: No. 1 Pepperdine vs. #4 USC at 1:30 p.m.
COVERAGE - Any available results will be tweeted on @WavesBeachVB whenever possible. Follow on Twitter and Facebook (@WavesBeachVB) for all updates before, during and after matches. Also, go to PepperdineWaves.com for updates, recaps and more.
WAVES WEATHER - On Tuesday, the forecast calls for sunny skies with winds going north to east at 5-10 mph. The temperature has a high of 56 and low of 33 throughout the day. Saturday at Zuma Beach calls for a high of 70 and low of 53 degrees, along with winds heading south at 5-10 mph. It will be partly cloudy with both sunshine and clouds mixed in.
LOOKING AHEAD - Next, the Waves take a short trip to USC on April 10 and host Arizona and Cal Poly on April 14 to close out the regular season.
THE NO. 1 WAVES - Pepperdine ranks atop the AVCA coaches poll for the fourth-straight week after hanging on to a 15-2 overall. The Waves are currently on a 13-match winning streak and 14 of the overall wins this season have been over ranked teams, while the Waves have also posted a 5-1 record when facing top-five ranked programs and 11-1 against top-10 ranked squads. The Waves hold a 3-0 record at home, 3-0 on the road and have gone 8-2 on neutral sand.
As pairs, the Waves have posted a 60-25 record overall and have gone 133-67 in sets played. At the No. 1 spot, Madalyn Roh and Brook Bauer have amassed a 9-5 record, while going 11-6 overall this season. In the No. 2 position, Deahna Kraft and Corinne Quiggle have put up a 13-1 output in the slot, along with a 14-3 record on the season all-together. The pair is currently on a 13-match winning streak with all but one match being won in straight sets. Kraft and Quiggle have put up a 27-5 sets record in the No. 2 position as well this season. The No. 2 position has been the deciding factor in nine of the Waves' 17 matches this season, including the first-five matches overall and four of the last six. Heidi Dyer and Gigi Hernandez have been in the No. 3 position throughout the whole season for Pepperdine, amassing a 12-5 overall record against opponents.
The No. 4 position has been the most successful for the Waves this season, as Skylar Caputo and Alexis Filippone have amassed an impressive undefeated 17-0 record, adding a 34-6 record by sets as well. The duo has won 11 by straight sets and gritted out six three-set battles this season. There have been four separate pairs playing in the No.5 position for the Waves. Most recently, Maddie Dilfer and Nikki Lyons have paired up for Pepperdine, amassing and even 3-3 record. The Waves collectively have gone 6-11 in the position this season.
LAST WEEK - The Waves had a pair of rainouts last week. The matches against CSUN and Loyola Marymount have yet to be rescheduled. Pepperdine went 5-0 the week prior with wins over then-ranked #4 Florida State (4-1), #7 LSU (3-2), #9 South Carolina (4-1), #11 Georgia State (4-1) and Jacksonville State (5-0). The Waves opened the week against FSU at Zuma Beach. In the first flight, Skylar Caputo and Alexis Filippone gritted out a three-set win on court four with a 21-12, 18-21, 15-13 result. The Seminoles countered with a win on five to even the score heading into the second flight. Pepperdine dominated the top-three courts, however, collecting a quick 21-14, 21-13 win from the No. 2 pair Deahna Kraft and Corinne Quiggle to put the home team in a position to clinch. Heidi Dyer and Gigi Hernandez would do the honors with a 21-11, 21-17 win in the No. 3 position for the 3-1 Waves' lead with one court still in action. After Madalyn Roh and Brook Bauer won the first set 21-14, the Seminoles forced a third with a 21-14 set win of their own. The Waves buckled down in the third and posted a 15-13 set win to finish off the match in the home team's favor.
In the Gamecock Grand Slam, the Waves went 4-0, first dominating Jacksonville State 5-0 to open the weekend. The team finished off day one with a 4-1 win over No. 9 South Carolina and completed the weekly sweep with a 3-2 win over No. 7 LSU and a 4-1 win over No. 11 Georgia State. Deahna Kraft, Corinne Quiggle and Skylar Caputo, Alexis Filippone went undefeated throughout the weekend to help the cause. Pepperdine's No. 3 and No. 5 pairs went 3-1 on the weekend, while the No. 1 pair posted a 2-2 after some tough battles.
OPPONENT NOTES - UCLA has gone 18-3 this season with losses to Pepperdine, USC and Hawai'i, all AVCA top-five teams. The Bruins have gone 6-0 at home this season and currently rank #2 in the AVCA Coaches Poll. LMU ranks 16th nationally after going 8-7 this season. The Lions have gone 2-2 on the road and most recently split last week with a win over CSU Bakersfield and a loss to #6 Cal Poly. Saint Mary's has gone 9-2 this season with losses only to Cal and Stanford on the road. USC has posted a 15-6 overall record this season, while going 2-3 on the road. The Trojans have lost to the Waves and Hawai'i twice and UCLA and LSU once.
