#2 Beach Volleyball Closes Regular Season this Week
4/9/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. - The No. 2 Pepperdine beach volleyball team returns to the beach this week, first traveling to No. 4 USC on Tuesday before returning to Zuma Beach in Malibu on Saturday for a round-robin with No. 5 Cal Poly and No. 12 Arizona.
DUAL 22 - Tuesday (April 10) at Merle Norman Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif.: No. 2 Pepperdine vs. #4 USC at 5 p.m.
DUAL 23 - Saturday (April 14) at Zuma Beach Malibu, Calif.: No. 2 Pepperdine vs #12 Arizona at 9 a.m.
DUAL 24 - Saturday (April 14) at Zuma Beach Malibu, Calif.: No. 2 Pepperdine vs. #5 Cal Poly at 11:30 a.m.
COVERAGE - The match at USC will stream live on the Pac-12 Network. The home matches at Zuma will have live updates on Twitter. 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 - Tuesday in LA calls for a high of 82 and low of 58 throughout the day with light winds. Sunset is scheduled for 7:20 p.m., with a few clouds and no chance of rain. Saturday in Malibu foresees highs of 76 and lows of 58 degrees, with wins going 15-25 miles per hour earlier in the day. Stronger winds will be found in and below canyons and passes. It will be mainly sunny with no chance of rain.
LOOKING AHEAD - After this week, Pepperdine heads into postseason, beginning with the West Coast Conference Championships on April 20 and 21 in Santa Monica, Calif.
THE NO. 1 WAVES - Pepperdine ranks second in the AVCA coaches poll for the second week after producing an 18-3 overall record. 17 of the Waves' overall wins this season have been over ranked teams, while the Waves have also posted a 6-2 record when facing top-five ranked programs and 12-2 against top-10 ranked squads. The Waves hold a 6-0 record at home, 4-1 on the road and have gone 8-2 on neutral sand.
As pairs, the Waves have posted a 75-30 record overall and have gone 166-81 in sets played. At the No. 1 spot, Madalyn Roh and Brook Bauer have amassed a 9-6 record, while going 14-7 overall this season. In the No. 2 position, Deahna Kraft and Corinne Quiggle have put up a 14-1 output in the slot, along with a 17-4 record on the season all-together. Kraft and Quiggle have put up a 29-6 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' 21 matches this season. Heidi Dyer and Gigi Hernandez have been in the No. 3 position throughout the whole season for Pepperdine, amassing a 15-6 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 20-1 record, adding a 41-9 record by sets as well. The duo has won 13 by straight sets and gritted out eight 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 6-4 record. The Waves collectively have gone 9-12 in the position this season.
LAST WEEK - Pepperdine did not have any official scheduled matches last week, although the Waves did have some friendlies scheduled. The week prior, Pepperdine went 3-1 with their first loss after a 13-match winning streak at then-No. 2 UCLA. Corinne Quiggle and Deahna Kraft had the Waves' lone win with a three-set victory on court two.
On Saturday at Zuma, the Waves went 3-0 with wins over No. 4 USC, No. 16 Loyola Marymount and No. 19 Saint Mary's. In the 4-1 win over USC, the Waves' two through five pairs collected two-set wins with Pepperdine's No. 4 duo Skylar Caputo and Alexis Filippone picking up the clinch. The Waves also took home sweeps over the other opponents with Quiggle and Kraft clinching over LMU on court one and Maddie Dilfer and Nicole Lyons clinching on court five against the Gaels.
OPPONENT NOTES - Pepperdine now leads USC all-time with an 11-10 overall record against, dating back to 2012 when the Waves won the first-ever match 3-2 before going on a six-match winning streak. From 2016-17, the Trojans won six-straight, but Pepperdine has won all three of the matches against USC played this season, with two by 3-2 results and one by 4-1 results. This season, the Trojans have gone 17-8 and currently rank 4th in the AVCA Coaches Poll.
The Waves hold winning records against both Arizona and Cal Poly, with an uncontested 3-0 record against the Wildcats since 2014 and a 4-1 record against the Mustangs since 2016. This season, Arizona has gone 16-8 overall and ranks 12th in the poll, while Cal Poly has gone 22-4 and currently ranks 5th.
