MALIBU, Calif. – The #9 Pepperdine beach volleyball team is back at Zuma Beach on Saturday, hosting #10 Stetson, #14 Long Beach State and #15 South Carolina for the Waves' Invite.

DUAL 3: Saturday (March 7) at Zuma Beach in Malibu, Calif.: #9 Pepperdine vs. #15 South Carolina at 9 a.m. PT.

DUAL 4: Saturday (March 7) at Zuma Beach in Malibu, Calif.: #9 Pepperdine vs. #10 Stetson at 11:45 a.m. PT.

DUAL 5: Saturday (March 7) at Zuma Beach in Malibu, Calif.: #9 Pepperdine vs. #14 Long Beach State at 2:15 p.m. PT.

FULL SCHEDULE:

9 AM                Pepperdine vs. South Carolina

10:15 AM          Long Beach State vs. Stetson

11:45 AM          Pepperdine vs. Stetson

1:00 PM            South Carolina vs. Long Beach State

2:15 PM            Pepperdine vs. Long Beach State

COVERAGE: Updates and results can be found on Twitter @WavesBeachVB.  All matches will have live tweeting throughout the day, with Pepperdine matches having more in-depth information.  Additionally, go to PepperdineWaves.com for recaps, updates and more.

LOOKING AHEAD: Next, the Waves hit the road for Los Angeles to take on #2 UCLA and #5 USC at Merle Norman Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 11.

WAVES WEATHER: Saturday at Zuma Beach calls for mostly cloudy skies with a high of 58° and a low of 50°.  There is a 10% chance of rain in the morning and a 20% chance of rain at night.  The winds will go southwest at 10-15 miles per hour and the humidity currently sits at 69%. 

#9 WAVES: After opening the 2020 campaign with some preseason sweeps, the #9 Waves struggled last week, falling to PCH rival LMU and tournament-host Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.  The losses put the Waves record at 0-2 to start the season.

WAVE REPORT AT ZUMA BEACH: The Waves first began playing at Zuma Beach in 2012, producing a 52-3 all time dual record for a .945 success rate at home in eight seasons.  All-time as pairs, Pepperdine has produced a 237-50 overall record to average a .826 success rate.  In the first season at Zuma, the squad collected a 2-0 team record that season and a 13-7 overall pairs record that season.  Since the inaugural season, Pepperdine has gone undefeated at their home beach in five-of-eight seasons, including a 9-0 run in 2016 with a 40-5 pairs record and 8-0 in 2018 with a 34-6 pairs record.  Last season, Pepperdine went 10-1 as a team and 37-13 as pairs.

OPPONENT NOTES: The opponents for the weekend are #10 Stetson, #14 Long Beach State and #15 South Carolina.  This season, Stetson has gone 6-3 overall, with wins over #7 Cal Poly, #16 TCU and #16 Georgia State.  The Hatters have fallen to #2 Florida State, #18 Florida Atlantic and unranked Houston Baptist this season.  The Waves have only faced Stetson once before this season, in 2017, winning the match 5-0 on neutral courts.

Long Beach State has gone 3-0 this season, defeating Vanguard, Concordia-Irvine and Santa Clara thus far. The Waves and Beach have faced off many times since 2012, with Pepperdine holding a 21-2 overall record against since 2012.  The Waves won the first matchup in 2012 3-2 and continued into 2013 with a eight-match winning streak before LBSU took a 3-2 win.  Pepperdine then won the next four-straight before the opposition took their second win in 2015.  Since 2016, the Waves have gone on a nine-match winning streak, including five by way of sweep.

South Carolina has produced a 3-5 overall record so far this season, defeating #4 USC and #20 College of Charleston, while losing to #9 Cal Poly, #16 TCU, #3 Florida State and #10 Grand Canyon.  All-time, the Waves have put in a 2-0 record against the Gamecocks, with both victories happening on the road in 2015 and 2018.  This dual against each other will be the two squads first at Zuma Beach. 

WCC PRESEASON: Bauer, Kraft and Hernandez all received prestigious postseason honors previously, including All-WCC first team honors the past two seasons for Kraft and Bauer and a second team nod for Hernandez.  All three Waves also earned All-American acclaim, with Bauer tabbing an AVCA first team honor in 2019.  Bauer and Kraft also garnered WCC Defensive Player of the Year honors previously, with Bauer's coming in 2019 and Kraft's in 2018. 

Last season, the Waves finished 7^th in the NCAA Championships and collected a 20-11 overall record throughout the season. 

Pepperdine was selected to finish 2^nd in the West Coast Conference standings this season, under PCH Cup rival Loyola Marymount.  LMU received 36 points in the preseason poll, while the Waves had 31.  The two Southern California teams were followed by Saint Mary's (24), Santa Clara (21), San Francisco (16), Pacific (11) and Portland (8).  Additionally, LMU had five players earn a spot on the preseason squad, while Pepperdine had three, Saint Mary's had two and San Francisco had one. 

FOLLOW: Follow @WavesBeachVB on Facebook and Twitter for updates and check on PepperdineWaves.com for full results, recaps and more.  Follow @peppbeachvolley on Instagram for an inside look at the Waves' team culture and check out @PepperdineWaves for the scoop on all the Waves' programs throughout the year.