NOTES

MALIBU, Calif. - Postseason begins this week as the No. 2 Pepperdine beach volleyball team heads to Ocean Park Beach in Santa Monica for the 2018 West Coast Conference Championships on Friday and Saturday.

WCC CHAMPIONSHIPS - No. 2 Pepperdine (21-3) at the West Coast Conference Championships | Friday-Saturday, April 20-21 at Ocean Park Beach in Santa Monica, Calif. first round bye, second round at noon vs. winner of No. 4 seed Pacific (8-11) and No. 5 seed San Francisco (4-9).

COVERAGE - Tournament Central for the WCC Championships: https://gowav.es/2HCMqQS. 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 Friday in Santa Monica, the sun will be out shining high and there will be a high of 67 and low of 53 with winds going Southwest at 11 miles per hour. On Saturday, the weather calls for mostly sunny with a high of 72 and low of 57. The win will once again go Southwest, but at only nine mph on day two. There is currently no chance of rain on both days.

LOOKING AHEAD - After the WCC Championships will be the NCAA Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala. from May 4-6.

WCC CHAMPIONSHIPS FIELD - Pepperdine took the top-spot of the tournament for the third-consecutive season with a 21-3 overall record. Loyola Marymount and Saint Mary's are the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds respectively with 19-12 and 14-10 records. Pacific and San Francisco marked 8-11 and 4-9 records to earn the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds. Portland and Santa Clara round out the No. 6 and No. 7 seeds after putting up 2-6 and 1-11 records this season.

THE NO. 2 WAVES - Pepperdine ranks second in the AVCA coaches poll for the third week after producing a 21-3 overall record. 20 of the Waves' overall wins this season have been over ranked teams, while the Waves have also posted a 8-2 record when facing top-five ranked programs and 14-2 against top-10 ranked squads. The Waves hold an 8-0 record at home, 5-1 on the road and have gone 8-2 on neutral sand.

As pairs, the Waves have posted a 87-33 record overall and have gone 190-88 in sets played. Corinne Quiggle and Deahna Kraft have marked a 19-5 overall record this season. The pair currently plays in the top-spot and has gone 5-4 in that position, while also collecting a 14-1 record when playing in the No. 2 position. Brook Bauer and Madalyn Roh have gone 17-7 overall this season, with a 9-6 record when playing in the No. 1-slot and an 8-1 record when playing in their current No. 2 position. The No. 2 position has been the deciding factor in 10 of the Waves' 24 matches this season.

Heidi Dyer and Gigi Hernandez have been in the No. 3 position throughout the whole season for Pepperdine, amassing a 17-7 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 22-2 record, adding a 45-11 record by sets as well. The duo has won 15 by straight sets and gritted out seven 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 a 9-5 record, including winning the last six matches in straight-set fashion. The Waves collectively have gone 12-12 in the position this season.

LAST WEEK - The Waves faced three separate ranked opponents last week, winning all three matches. First, Pepperdine downed then-ranked No. 4 USC 3-2 in Los Angeles. Then the Waves returned to Zuma Beach for the two final home matches of the 2018 campaign, defeating No. 12 Arizona 4-1 and No. 5 Cal Poly 5-0 to remain undefeated at home this season.

At USC, the Waves took the first flight completely as Skylar Caputo and Alexis Filippone and Maddie Dilfer and Nikki Lyons each won their matches in straight sets on courts four and five respectively. The Trojans took wins on courts one and three to tie the match and put all eyes on court two with Brook Bauer and Madalyn Roh. After winning the first set handily, the Waves used the momentum to take a close second set as well, clinching the Waves' fourth win over USC this season.

At Zuma, the Waves opened with a big win over Arizona. Pepperdine pairs on courts one, two, three and five each won their matches in straight sets to take the win. In a grunge match against Cal Poly, the Waves unleashed and set a tone early, winning all five first sets. Dyer and Hernandez finished first with a 21-16, 21-13 win over Adlee Van Winden and Taylor Nelson in the No. 3 position and Dilfer and Lyons followed suit with a 21-19, 21-15 win on five over Heather Pembroke and Hannah Hubbard. Alexis Filippone and Skylar Caputo clinched the overall with a 21-17, 24-22 victory on court four over Rae Greisen and Macy Gordon. Pepperdine wasn't done then, however, as Bauer and Roh picked up a win on two, 22-20, 21-16 over Emily Jonny and Samantha Manley. Deahna Kraft and Corinne Quiggle completed the sweep on court one with a well-fought 21-17, 13-21, 15-12 victory over Torrey Van Winden and Tia Miric.

PAIRS OF THE WEEK - The Waves have had one pairing earn both AVCA and VolleyMob pair of the week accolades after Skylar Caputo and Alexis Filippone did so on March 6. Corinne Quiggle and Deahna Kraft also earned West Coast Conference Pair of the Month for the month of March.

WEST COAST CONFERENCE PRESEASON ACCOLADES - The Waves were tabbed to finish atop the West Coast Conference for the third-straight season, as voted by the league's seven head coaches in the WCC Preseason Poll and released on February 14.

Corinne Quiggle, Skylar Caputo, Heidi Dyer and Madalyn Roh also were tabbed to the All-WCC Preseason Beach Volleyball Team as well. The Waves earned 36 points to rank atop the conference in the preseason poll, with all six first place votes possible.

LAST SEASON - The Waves went 27-5 overall last season and finished as NCAA Runner-up after a narrow loss in the finals. Pepperdine collected a 17-5 record against ranked opponents, while amassing a 9-1 record at Zuma Beach, a 6-2 record on the road and a 14-2 output on neutral sand. The Waves went 116-37 in sets played for a .758 set winning percentage.

BACK-TO-BACK WCC CHAMPS - The Waves have won back-to-back West Coast Conference Championship titles in 2016 and 2017, with a series of three-straight wins en route to each title. In 2017, the Waves opened the tournament with a 5-0 sweep over Pacific. The team then defeated PCH Cup rivals Loyola Marymount with 4-1 decisions to earn the title. Last season, the Waves beat LMU once and Saint Mary's twice for the championship.

SKIES THE LIMIT - Many of the Waves participate in all that southern California has to offer. Skylar Caputo often competes in paddle boarding when not in season, along with surfing and hiking any nearby mountains for fun. In 2016, she and fellow Wave Kaity Bailey hiked to the top of Mount Whitney with each of their fathers for a father-daughter backpacking trip.

THEY CAN DO IT ALL - Juniors Nikki Lyons and Heidi Dyer are the only two current Waves to be competing for both Pepperdine's indoor women's volleyball program and beach volleyball program at a competitive level. Lyons and Dyer are each starters on the indoor squad and have seen ample amounts on the beach with Dyer being a two-year starter and each Wave seeing time in the NCAA and WCC Championship tournaments last season.

Heidi Dyer, THE TITANIUM WOMAN - Junior Heidi Dyer had an interesting road to NCAA Division I athletics and AVCA Beach All-American status. When she was 12, a major scoliosis curve of over 60 percent forced her to get corrective surgery. She had two titanium rods fused to her spine to keep her back straight. Despite her parents being told she would never play volleyball again and may never walk again, she defied all odds and became one of Pepperdine beach and indoor volleyball student-athletes. During the 2016 NCAA Beach Volleyball National Championship season, TurnerSports and NCAA.com did a feature piece on her that streamed throughout the NCAA tournament and aired on TBS. It was voted one of the top-10 features on NCAA.com last season.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL HISTORY - The Pepperdine women's beach volleyball program has been at the forefront of the sport since it was introduced in 2012. The Waves went a perfect 14-0 in dual match play and won the inaugural AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Team Championship in Gulf Shores, Ala. Pepperdine's Caitlin Racich -- the program's first-ever scholarship recipient -- and partner Summer Ross took home the pairs national crown as well. In 2013, the Waves marched back to the national title match but fell 3-2 while playing shorthanded. The Waves returned with a vengeance in 2014, going 18-1 in route to the national championship title. The Waves boast a nation-best 14 AVCA All-Americans: Lara Dykstra (2013, 14), Lilla Frederick (2012, 13), Kim Hill (2012, 13), Kelley Larsen (2014, 15), Racich (2012, 13), Ross (2012), Becca Strehlow (2014) and Kellie Woolever (2014, 15). Hill stands as the first, and to date only, student-athlete to earn AVCA All-American first team honors in both indoor and sand volleyball in a single season. Last season, the Waves made a run for the national crown in the Championship title bout against top-ranked USC in Gulf Shores. The Waves made it a 2-2 match with the final court reaching a 13-13 tie in the final set before the Trojans picked up the win.

NCAA STATUS - This season marks the third season which beach volleyball will be an NCAA-sanctioned sport, with the NCAA Championships to be held again in Gulf Shores, Ala. from May 4-6. The last two seasons marked the first that the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships was held in Gulf Shores, with USC take home both titles. Previously, collegiate sand volleyball, completed the fourth and final year as an "emerging sport" in the 2015 season. It was given 10 years to gain the minimum 40 sponsoring institutions for two years in a row to be considered an NCAA Championship sport. With requirements met in record time, sand volleyball was voted into NCAA Championship Sport status in 2015. The NCAA will host only a team championship, and not a pairs championship.

MATTHIES - Nina Matthies' enters the 2018 beach season facing her seventh and final season at the helm of the Waves. At Zuma Beach in seven seasons, she led the Waves to a 42-2 record for a .955 winning percentage at home. She has collected a 112-18 record in the previous six seasons. She will be assisted this season once again by future leader of the Waves' program Marcio Sicoli and AVCA All-American and 2017 Pepperdine alumna Delaney Knudsen. Matthies retired from coaching the indoor game following the 2013 season and finished her 31-season run with a career record of 590-343 (.632). In the span, Matthies led the Waves to 10 conference championships and 20 NCAA Tournament appearances. She is by far the WCC's all-time winningest coach and is a 10-time WCC Coach of the Year. Matthies was among the world's top players and is a member of the Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame and in 2015 was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame and earned the USA Volleyball's All-Time Great Female Beach Player award. In 2009, Dig Magazine rated her and former partner Linda Hanley as the second-best women's beach team of all time. She won two AIAW national championships as a player at UCLA. In 2013, she was honored by her peers as the inaugural winner of the AVCA Sand Volleyball Coach of the Year award.

SICOLI - Marcio Sicoli is in his seventh season assisting Nina Matthies in the sand, after spending six season with her as assistant indoor volleyball coach. He was recently named by Pepperdine to suceed Matthies at the helm of the Waves after her retirement at the end of the season. Sicoli is highly lauded for his approach to training and served as head coach for Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings during their gold-medal run at the 2012 London Olympics as well as the Walsh Jennings and April Ross bronze medal run at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Olympica. Sicoli also served as the assistant coach for the Brazilian Olympic Women's Beach Volleyball Team from 2000 to 2004. In 2004, his team of Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede took home the silver medal in Athens. He currently serves as coach to 2016 Olympic hopefuls Walsh Jennings and April Ross.

ZUMA BEACH - The Waves call Zuma Beach "home," practicing and hosting all home events at one of Malibu's most picturesque locations. Courts are located just west of Point Dume, between Towers 2 & 3 or at the 29800 block of the Pacific Coast Highway.

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.