MALIBU, California — The five-time national champion Pepperdine men's volleyball team has advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Championships and now takes on the host school, Long Beach State. The Waves have the task of trying to beat a 49ers squad that hasn't lost at home since 2016.
MATCH #30 — Thursday (May 2) at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California: #3 Pepperdine (23-6) vs. #2 Long Beach State (26-2) at 7:30 p.m.
WATCH/ONLINE — Thursday's semifinal will be live streamed at NCAA.com. Links to broadcasts and live stats can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY — Pepperdine's five national championships — 1978, 1985, 1986, 1992 and 2005 — are more than any other school except for UCLA. The Waves are now 18-10 in their 16th NCAA Tournament appearance.* This is their first trip since 2008.* This is the second time that Pepperdine has taken part in an NCAA Championships at Long Beach State (2003, lost in the semifinals to Lewis).
OPPONENT — Pepperdine is 51-45 all-time against Long Beach State, with a 16-26 road record. The teams haven't met since 2017. The Waves won four in a row in 2014 and 2015, followed by four in a row by the 49ers in 2016 and 2017. In the only previous NCAA Tournament meeting, Pepperdine beat Long Beach State 3-0 in the 2008 semifinals in Irvine.*
NCAA QUARTERFINAL RECAP — It wasn't easy, but the Waves outlasted #13 Princeton in five sets (25-23, 19-25, 25-16, 22-25, 15-8) in Tuesday night's opening-round match.
David Wieczorek had a team-high 18 kills, while
Max Chamberlain had a career-high 10 kills and a season-high nine blocks. The Waves outhit (.318 to .209) and outblocked (14.0 to 6.5) the Tigers.
ALL-AMERICAN — David Wieczorek was named to the AVCA All-American first team on Monday. He's now a three-time All-American (2018 second team, 2017 honorable mention). He's the first Wave to make the first team since 2015. He's the eighth Wave to earn at least three AVCA All-American awards since they were first handed out in 1991. Wieczorek has also been named one of three finalists for Off the Block's Karch Kiraly Award, given to the nation's top outside attacker. Three more Waves were received All-American honorable mention notice from the AVCA:
Kaleb Denmark,
Robert Mullahey and
Michael Wexter. It's the first such honor for each.
NEXT — The NCAA championship match is set for Saturday (May 4) at 5 p.m.
WIN NOTES — Pepperdine has won 20 matches for the 17th time in program history. It's the first time since 2015, though just the second time in the last 10 seasons ... The Waves are currently on a season-best eight-match win streak, their longest since winning nine in a row in 2015 ... The Waves had a winning streak of 18 consecutive sets (which included five straight three-set sweeps) before Princeton won the second set on Tuesday.
PEPPERDINE VOLLEYBALL — Pepperdine has won five NCAA men's volleyball championships, second only to UCLA. Coaching legend
Marv Dunphy stepped down after the 2017 season. He won four of the NCAA titles, plus 612* matches over his 34 years with the Waves. Pepperdine has won 16* regular-season or tournament conference titles. The Waves have finished in the top six in the final AVCA poll in 17 of the last 22 seasons, and in the top 10 in 21 of the last 22 years. A Pepperdine alum has competed at the Olympics every time since 1984 (Sean Rooney was the most recent to medal, winning gold in 2008).
ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY — 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 18 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, California, 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 #46 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
