#5 Beach Volleyball to Host #2 USC on Saturday

MALIBU, Calif. – The #5 Pepperdine beach volleyball team will close out the week by hosting #2 USC on Saturday at Zuma Beach. The dual, which will be three-court format, will begin at 10 a.m.

DUAL 22 – Saturday (March 30) at Zuma Beach in Malibu, Calif.: #5 Pepperdine vs. #2 USC at 10 a.m.

COVERAGE – All matches at Zuma Beach will be live streamed courtesy of p1440 for the remainder of the season. Links available on www.PepperdineWaves.com/WavesBeachVB.

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 – Saturday's forecast calls for a partly cloudy disposition with a high of 75º. There is a 0% chance of precipitation with north to northwest winds blowing at 10 to 20 miles per hour.

LOOKING AHEAD – Next, the Waves flip the script and hit the road for another match with the Trojans on Thursday, April 11.

THE #5 WAVES – Pepperdine has gone 15-6 overall this season, with an 11-6 record against ranked opposition. At home, the Waves have posted a 7-1 record, while the team has gone 3-1 on the road and 5-4 on neutral sands. In sets, the squad has collected a 142-99 overall record.

Pepperdine has played a few pairings across the board, with either Brook Bauer and Heidi Dyer or Bauer and Deahna Kraft in the No. 1 position. Bauer and Dyer have posted an 8-5 record in the top spot, while Bauer and Kraft have gone 3-4 overall. Dyer and Kraft have also spent time in the No. 2 position with Gigi Hernandez. Hernandez and Kraft have gone 7-5 in the position, while she and Dyer have posted a 6-1 output.

Skylar Caputo and Alexis Filippone have put in the most time on court three, collecting a 9-3 record since joining forces. Nikki Lyons and Maddie Dilfer have gone 7-3 in the No. 4 position, while Simone Priebe and Katie Gavin have gone 7-3 in the No. 5 spot thus far.

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.

Since 2012, Pepperdine has gone 46-3 (.939) at home. The Waves won 13-straight matches from 2012 through 2014. The Waves went 3-1 in 2015, and 9-1 in 2017, but had uncontested home seasons with a 9-0 output in 2016 and an 8-0 record in 2018. The Waves lost for the only the third time at Zuma Beach this season against the Bruins.

OPPONENT NOTES – Pepperdine and USC have each won 12-duals since first facing in 2012. The Waves had the first streak form 2012-14 with six-straight wins, while the Trojans went on a six-dual streak from 2016-17. In 2018, the Waves won four matches before the Trojans defeated Pepperdine 3-2 in the NCAA tournament. Earlier this season in Arizona, the Trojans won a 3-2 matchup over the Waves.

This season, USC has gone 16-2 with losses to top-ranked UCLA and #10 South Carolina. The Trojans are currently on a six-match winning streak.

LAST WEEK – The Waves went 3-1 in their last four competitions, competing in the Arizona State Invitational and a solo dual at home. Pepperdine downed #6 Hawai'i 3-2 to open the ASU Tournament, before falling 3-2 to #2 USC and downing Arizona State 3-2. At home, the Waves downed #17 Stanford 4-1 on Tuesday.

Against the Rainbow Wahine, Nikki Lyons and Maddie Dilfer and Simone Priebe and Katie Gavin picked up a pair of wins to open the match, before Hawai'i won on courts one and three to even the score and put all eyes on two. Gigi Hernandez and Deahna Kraft would be the clinchers, defeating Julia Scoles and Ari Homayun 23-21, 21-15.

Against USC, the Waves and Trojans split the first flight in three-set matches on four and five. The Trojans took court five, Lyons and Dilfer downed Joy Dennis and Cammie Dorn 20-22, 25-23, 15-13 on four. Then, the Waves fell on court three, before Kraft and Hernandez picked up a 22-20, 21-15 win over Sammy Slater and Terese Canon on court two to even the score. The dual would not have the same end as the previous one, however, as USC won on court one to clinch the overall dual.

The Waves once again split the opening flight against ASU with Michael Kasper and Melanie Paul winning on court five. In the second flight, Brook Bauer and Heidi Dyer won on court one and Alexis Filippone and Skylar Caputo clinched the overall with a two-set win on court three.

In the final matchup, this time at Zuma Beach against Stanford, the Waves had the momentum from the beginning. Playing all five courts at once, Filippone and Caputo finished first with a two-set win on court three and Dilfer and Lyons put the Waves in a position to clinch with a win on court four. The clinch would come on court one as Bauer and Dyer defeated Charlie Eckstrom and Tori Ashkinos 21-15, 21-17. Although the Cardinal won on court two, the Waves finished on a high note with a three-set win from Priebe and Gavin to close on five.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brook Bauer

Skylar Caputo

Maddie Dilfer

Heidi Dyer

Alexis Filippone

Katie Gavin

Gigi Hernandez

Deahna Kraft

Nikki Lyons

Melanie Paul

Simone Priebe

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