MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team, a team receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll, begins the 2019 season on Friday with a set of three matches in the North Texas Challenge.  The season-opening tournament hosted by North Texas will also feature Tulsa and Illinois State.
 
MATCH #1 — Friday (August 30) at North Texas Volleyball Center in Denton, Texas: Pepperdine (RV) vs. Tulsa at 9:30 a.m. PT | Host: North Texas
 
MATCH #2 — Friday (August 30) at North Texas Volleyball Center in Denton, Texas: Pepperdine (RV) vs. North Texas at 4:30 p.m. PT | Host: North Texas
 
MATCH #3 — Saturday (August 31) at North Texas Volleyball Center in Denton, Texas: Pepperdine (RV) vs. Illinois State at 8:30 a.m. PT | Host: North Texas
  
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COVERAGE — Live stats will be provided for all Pepperdine matches, while live video will not.  All links are available on PepperdineWaves.com. 
 
MORE THAN A PEEK INTO THE 2018 SEASON — This week, the Waves took an in-depth look at the trials and tribulations faced during the end of the 2018 season in a three-part docuseries.  Also included in the feature were team philosophies and an inside look at the momentum towards the team's future this season.  All three chapters, as well as the full video, can be found on any of Pepperdine women's volleyball social channels (@WavesVolleyball on Facebook and Twitter) or on the Pepperdine Athletics YouTube channel.
 
SQUAD GOALS — Pepperdine carries over five starters plus the starting libero and 11 letterwinners from the 2018 squad, a team that finished 2nd in the West Coast Conference and finished in the NCAA second round - posting the Waves' best finish since the 2012 campaign. 
 
Included in the top-returners are three seniors, outside hitter Hannah Frohling, libero Hana Lishman and middle blocker Tarah Wylie.  Last season, Frohling was an All-WCC first teamer as well as earning CoSIDA Academic All-District second team honors.  She currently ranks in seven separate statistical categories in the record book with highest being 3rd with 1,252 total attempts in 2017 and 4th with 40 total service aces in 2018.  Lishman is in the record books as well in multiple categories, including 3rd with 3.85 digs/set and 1,291 total digs in her career.  Wylie earned All-WCC honorable mention in 2018 and ranks 6th all-time with 302 block assists throughout her career, 6th with 127 total blocks in the 2015 campaign and is tied-4th for 12 total blocks in a single match in 2016.
 
Also returning for the Waves include Shannon Scully, Rachel Ahrens, Alli O'Harra, Rosie Ballo, Taylor Akason, Madison Shields, Lily Dyer and Savana Greene. Scully led the Waves last season with 364 kills and 3.31 kills/set, while adding 28 aces and 328 total digs to help the efforts.  She finished the season with an All-WCC honorable mention nod.  O'Harra led the squad in blocks with 113 total denials for a 1.09 blocks/set average, while also posting 1.48 kills/set.  Ahrens earned a spot on the WCC All-Freshman squad and held her own as true-freshman on the right side for the Waves with 3.17 kills/set on a .297 success rate.
 
Pepperdine adds four new Waves to the squad, with one redshirt-freshman transfer from Northern Iowa, and three true freshman, Tayah Mahi, AVCA High School All-American Isabel Zelaya, All-League first teamer Aubrey Roberts and UnderArmour High School All-American Kayliegh Hames.
 
WCC PRESEASON POLL & HONORS — The Waves had four honored with an All-WCC Preseason Team selection, including Hannah Frohling, Tarah Wylie, Shannon Scully and Rachel Ahrens.  Pepperdine was picked to finish 3rd in the West Coast Conference this season, close behind BYU and San Diego, and out in front of PCH Cup rival Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary's, Pacific, Portland, Gonzaga, Santa Clara and San Francisco.
 
POSITION BREAKDOWNS:
CANNONS — Hannah Frohling, Shannon Scully, Rachel Ahrens, Taylor Akason, Savana Greene and Kayliegh Hames.
MALIBU ROOFING COMPANY — Tarah Wylie, Alli O'Harra and Rosie Ballo
PLAYMAKERS — Isabel Zelaya, Tayah Mahi and Lily Dyer.
CAN YOU DIG IT? — Hana Lishman, Madison Shields and Aubrey Roberts.
 
THE COMPETITION — The Waves will take on Tulsa, North Texas and Illinois State this weekend in Denton, facing first Tulsa and the tournament-hosts on Friday, neither of which Pepperdine has played before in program history.  The Waves have, however, taken on ISU three times in the program's history, losing the first matchup in 1983 before taking a 3-2 win in 1984.  The two teams faced again in 1998, falling in a five-set battle on neutral court.
 
2018 RECAP — Last season, the Waves went 22-9 overall and 14-4 in the West Coast Conference, posting a 12-1 output at home, a 6-7 record on the road and a 4-1 record on neutral courts.  The Waves made the NCAA Tournament for the 24th time in 44 seasons and the first time since the 2012 campaign, finishing in the second round of the tournament after posting a solid victory over Northern Iowa in the opening round in Wisconsin. The Waves won the final five matches of the regular season, including a 3-2 defeat of Hawai'i and WCC-victories over Gonzaga, Portland, PCH Cup rival LMU and San Diego to finish 2nd in the conference.
 
LISHMAN AND TEAM USA — Senior Hana Lishman had quite the summer, first being invited to the Team USA National Team tryout in Colorado Springs, and then by being selected to the 28-player U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team, Anaheim roster in April.  She trained with the squad in from June 23-29.
 
WAVES ON ICE? — Sophomore defensive specialist Madison 'Mad Dog' Shields didn't just grow up playing volleyball, she started her athletic career playing ice hockey.  Her stepsiblings played the sport and after taking basic lessons, she started to love it so much she joined a team.  That team happened to be an all-guys team, but checking was not yet allowed.  Shields stated, "I was on the team for two years and it was mentally challenging. It made me a more disciplined athlete and it made me want to work harder.  It helped me realize how to be a next-level athlete.
 
SCOTT WONG — Pepperdine alum Scott Wong was named head coach in December 2014, becoming the fifth head coach in program history.  In first four seasons at the helm of the Waves, he amassed a 68-55 overall record for Pepperdine.  He helped the program to its first NCAA appearance since 2012 in the 2018 campaign after leading the Waves to a 22-9 overall season and a NCAA second round finish.   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.
 
NEW FACES ON THE SIDELINES — Head Coach Scott Wong has recruited some new help on the sidelines for the 2018 season, bringing in Tara Hittle, Lindsey Berg and Blossom Sato to help coach the squad.  Hittle is a former NCAA Division I multi-sport student-athlete and professional volleyball player.  She graduated from University of Hawai'i after playing both basketball and volleyball and helping the Rainbow Wahine to a pair of NCAA Elite 8 appearances in 2006 and 2007 as well as Sweet 16 berths in 2004 and 2005.  Berg is a three-time Olympian and two-time silver medalist.  She helped lead Team USA to a pair of silver medal finishes in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, while also playing in Italy on the professional circuit for seven season.  Sato is a recent graduate of Pepperdine and spent two years leading the Waves as the primary setter, earning All-WCC first team honors in 2018.  She made an immediate impact after transferring from Mississippi State and posted 1,915 total assists, averaging 10.35 assists/set for the Waves.  Director of Operations Haley Thompson also returned to the sidelines to help the Waves this season.
 
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 28 times in 44 seasons, including 14 trips to the NCAA Championships in the last 21 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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