Waves Open 2018 Campaign with Panther Challenge

MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team opens the 2018 campaign on the road with the Panther Challenge, challenging tournament-host #20 Pitt, #24 Cal Poly and Butler on Friday and Saturday.

MATCH #1 — Friday (August 24) at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh, Pa.: Pepperdine vs. #24 Cal Poly at 7 a.m. PT.

MATCH #2 — Saturday (August 25) at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh, Pa.: Pepperdine vs. Butler at 8 a.m. PT.

MATCH #3 — Saturday (August 25) at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh, Pa.: Pepperdine vs. #20 Pitt at 4 p.m. PT. | WATCH: ACC Network Extra.

LIVE — The match will stream live on ACC Network Extra. 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.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL — http://bit.ly/2018VBPC

SQUAD GOALS — The Waves return 11 players including five starters plus the libero to the 2018 squad. Along with the returners, seven newcomers will join the Pepperdine ranks with two sophomore transfers and five freshmen added to the team this season.

The senior presence includes Blossom Sato, Nikki Lyons and Heidi Dyer, while Tarah Wylie and Jenna Tunnell return as redshirt-juniors. True juniors back this season are Hannah Frohling, Hana Lishman and Jaiden Farr, with Taylor Akason returning as a redshirt-sophomore. Other sophomores include Alli O'Harra and Grace Nielsen.

CANNONS — The Waves return the leading attacker from the previous season in Hannah Frohling who led the team with 3.69 kills/set after amassing 435 smashes and 181 errors on 1,252 swings. She also led the squad with 35 aces to average 0.30 aces/set and added 2.52 digs/set and 0.44 blocks/set.

Seniors Heidi Dyer and Nikki Lyons also return this season in addition to junior Jaiden Farr and redshirt-sophomore Taylor Akason. Lyons ranked third on the 2017 team with 2.75 kills/set with 209 kills on 642 attempts. She also added 2.50 digs/set, 0.18 aces/set and 0.37 blocks/set for the Waves. Dyer posted 1.62 kills/set on a .212 success rate, while adding 0.17 aces/set, 2.29 digs/set and 0.67 blocks/set. Farr came in primarily for back row support in the previous season, adding 0.24 aces/set and 2.07 digs/set, while Akason posted 0.29 kills/set and 0.25 blocks/set.

Along with the returners, the team adds transfer sophomore Shannon Scully who joins the Waves after a season at Utah and freshmen Savana Greene and Rachel Ahrens.

MALIBU ROOFING COMPANY — Pepperdine has solid height in the middle this season, returning 6'5 Tarah Wylie as a redshirt-junior, 6'3 Alli O'Harra and 6'4 Grace Nielsen as sophomores. Wylie was West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year in 2015 and returns to the court this season after spending a redshirt-season in 2017. In her previous season in action in 2016, the middle marked 2.01 kills/set on a .262 success rate, along with 0.23 aces/set and 0.94 blocks/set for her team. O'Harra had a solid freshman showing last season, starting in 28 of the team's 31 matches. She posted 1.56 kills/set on a .247 output, along with 0.32 digs/set and 0.97 blocks/set. Nielsen amassed 0.61 kills/set and 0.64 blocks/set.

The team adds 6'4 freshman Rosie Ballo to the ranks as well.

PLAYMAKERS — There are four players on the roster listed as setters. Blossom Sato, Heidi Dyer and Jenna Tunnell return as the setters from the previous season, with Sato logging the most time in the playmaking position. Sato averaged 9.74 assists/set with 721 assists in 74 sets played last season. Dyer and Tunnell double as an outside hitter and opposite for the team in addition to her setting duties. As a setter, she posted 5.03 assists/set with 578 assists. An addition to the chieftess' of the court, freshman Lily Dyer also join the ranks this season.

DIGGERS — Junior Hana Lishman has been a big presence for the Waves for the past two seasons and currently ranks 3rd in the Pepperdine women's volleyball record books with 3.86 career digs/set. She ranks in the top-eight of digs in a single-season twice and digs/set in a season once. She also ties for 3rd in the records with 32 digs in a four set match. Last season, she was good for an impressive 4.17 digs/set with 442 digs. She also ranked second on the squad with 28 aces and 0.26 aces/set. In addition to Lishman, Pepperdine adds sophomore transfer Julia DiBona and freshman Madison Shields to the action this season.

THE SCOOP ON 2017 — Last season, the Waves posted a 16-15 overall record with an 8-10 WCC output to finished tied for 6th place in the conference. The team produced a 9-6 record at home, a 4-8 record on the road and a 3-1 record on neutral courts. Pepperdine averaged 13.44 kills/set on a .222 success rate, while adding 12.65 assists/set, 1.42 aces/set, 16.41 digs/set and 2.65 blocks/set. The team allowed opponents 13.09 kills/set on a .188 hitting percentage, as well as 12.42 assists/set, 1.18 aces/set, 17.15 digs/set and 2.25 blocks/set on the season.

THE COMPETITION — This weekend brings tough competition for the Waves, with two teams ranked in the AVCA preseason coaches poll, but all teams enter untested with current rosters. Tournament-host Pitt ranks highest in the #20-spot, while West Coast-neighbors Cal Poly rank #24 early this season. In 2017, Pitt posted a 26-7 overall record with an 18-2 conference record. The team marked 14.5 kills/set on a .271 output, along with 1.43 aces/set, 13.21 digs/set and 2.24 blocks/set in 2017. The Panthers ended their season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Waves lead the Panthers all-time with a 3-1 record dating back to 1979 when Pepperdine won on neutral soil, 2-1. The Panthers then took a five-set victory in 1981, before the Waves won back-to-back straight-set wins in 1996 and 2007 most recently.

Last season, Cal Poly posted a 27-3 record with an untarnished 16-0 conference output. The team marked 15.05 kills/set on a .309 hitting percentage, along with 14.05 assists/set, 1.49 aces/set, 14.90 digs/set and 2.00 blocks/set. The Mustangs finished up their campaign in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2017. Cal Poly leads the all-time records against Pepperdine with a 23-15 record against, dating back to the first-ever match between the two teams in 1975. The Waves won the first four contests before the Mustangs went on a 21-match winning streak from 1980-89. Pepperdine then outplayed Cal Poly with an 11-2 record from 1990-2009, including seven-straight wins early on.

Butler posted a 23-8 overall record in 2017, with a 13-5 conference output. The team posted 13.61 kills/set on a .247 clip, along with 12.37 assists/set, 1.12 aces/set, 15.56 digs/set and 2.69 blocks/set. Last season, the Bulldogs finished in the first round of the Big East Tournament. This is the first time Butler and Pepperdine will face all-time.

IT'S ALL IN THE FAMILY — Senior Heidi Dyer and freshman Lily Dyer will play on the same squad for the first time since high school and club volleyball. In high school while playing on the same team the sister won a CIF title and finished as a state finalist. They are not the only two Dyer's playing Pepperdine volleyball, however, as their brother Noah is also a junior standout on the men's volleyball program as well.

HEIDI DYER, THE TITANIUM WOMAN — Senior Heidi Dyer had an interesting road to becoming a NCAA Division I dual-sport athlete 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 NCAA Beach Volleyball National Championships last 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.

ONE IS NEVER ENOUGH — Seniors Heidi Dyer and Nikki Lyons are now the only two dual-sport volleyball athletes at Pepperdine, as both play indoor and beach volleyball. Each Wave have a tremendous impact on both teams, as each have earned primary positions and many starts both indoor and out. Dyer earned AVCA All-American first team honors on the beach in 2016.

SATO NATION — Senior Blossom Sato comes from the very well-known Sato volleyball dynasty. Her mother Liane was a member of the US Women's National Team in 1988 and 1992 when the team captured the Olympic Games bronze medal. She now coaches Santa Monica High School. Her uncles Eric and Gary were also standouts in the sport, playing or coaching alongside legendary Pepperdine men's volleyball coach Marv Dunphy for Team USA when the squad won the gold in 1988. Eric was a member of the 1988 US Men's National Team that claimed gold and the 1992 squad that earned bronze. Gary, who is now an assistant for USC, served as the United States' Head Coach for the 1985 FIVB World Cup gold medal finish and served as an assistant for the US Men's National Team from 1984-88, 1992 and 2009-12.

SCOTT WONG — Pepperdine alum Scott Wong was named head coach in December 2014, becoming the fifth head coach in program history. In first three seasons at the helm of the Waves, he amassed a 46-46 overall record for Pepperdine. 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 43 seasons, including 13 trips to the NCAA Championships in the last 20 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. 46 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.

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