Pepperdine University
USC
#10 Beach Volleyball to Play Five Duals this Week
3/9/2020 3:56:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. – The #10 Pepperdine beach volleyball team has a full docket this week, beginning on Wednesday with a short trip to Merle Norman Stadium to challenge #2 UCLA and #6 USC before returning home to host the Zuma Classic against #2 UCLA, #5 Cal Poly and #18 Georgia State on Saturday.
DUAL 6: Wednesday (March 11) at Merle Norman Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif.: #10 Pepperdine vs. #6 USC at 12 p.m. PT.
DUAL 7: Wednesday (March 11) at Merle Norman Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif.: #10 Pepperdine vs. #2 UCLA at 4 p.m. PT.
DUAL 8: Saturday (March 14) at Zuma Beach in Malibu, Calif.: #10 Pepperdine vs. #5 Cal Poly at 9 a.m. PT.
DUAL 9: Saturday (March 14) at Zuma Beach in Malibu, Calif.: #10 Pepperdine vs. #2 UCLA at 11:30 a.m. PT.
DUAL 10: Saturday (March 14) at Zuma Beach in Malibu, Calif.: #10 Pepperdine vs. #18 Georgia State at 3:15 p.m.
FULL ZUMA CLASSIC SCHEDULE:
9:00 AMÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Pepperdine vs. Cal Poly
10:15 AMÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â UCLA vs. Georgia State
11:30 AMÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Pepperdine vs. UCLA
12:45 PMÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Cal Poly vs. Georgia State
2:00 PMÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â UCLA vs. Cal Poly
3:15 PM Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Pepperdine vs. Georgia State
COVERAGE: Updates and results can be found on Twitter @WavesBeachVB. The matches at USC will have live scoring available, which can be found on PepperdineWaves.com. All matches for the Zuma Classic 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: After the busy week this week, the Waves will approach a light one next week, hosting only the Alumni Match on Wednesday, March 18. The next NCAA dual will be on Tuesday, March 24 when the Waves welcome both LMU and USC to Zuma Beach at 11 a.m.
WAVES WEATHER: On Wednesday in LA, the weather calls for a high of 69° and a low of 54°. There is a 40% chance for showers in the morning and then it will be partly cloudy in the afternoon, with winds moving South at five to 10 miles per hour.Â
On Saturday in Malibu, there will be a high of 60° and low of 52° with a 40% chance of showers in the morning and then more partly cloudy conditions in the afternoon. The winds will run South at 10-15 mph.
#10 WAVES: Pepperdine has opened the 2020 campaign with a 2-3 overall record, defeating #10 Stetson and #15 South Carolina, while dropping close matches to now-ranked #5 Cal Poly, #8 Loyola Marymount and #16 Long Beach State.
As pairs, the Waves have gone 14-11 overall this season, with 4-1 performances in the No. 3 and No. 4 positions. Pepperdine has gone 3-2 at the top spot, 2-3 in the No. 2 position and 1-4 in the No. 5 slot. Melanie Paul and Simone Priebe have been the most consistent at No. 4, with a 4-1 output. Sutton Mactavish and Carly Skjodt had a slow start, dropping two matches in the No. 2 position, before moving to the No. 3 position and winning their last three-straight matches.Â
Brook Bauer and Deahna Kraft have worked hard in the top-spot and currently have posted a 3-2 record for the Waves. Alexis Filippone and Gigi Hernandez have also played in both the No. 2 and 3 positions, amassing a 2-1 output in the No. 2 slot and a 1-1 record in the No. 3 position. Several pairs have played in the No. 5 position for the squad, with Maddy Bailey and Peyton Lewis collecting the first Waves' win in the position this past weekend against Stetson.
WAVE REPORT AT ZUMA BEACH: The Waves first began playing at Zuma Beach in 2012, producing a 54-4 all time dual record for a .931 success rate at home including the current season. All-time as pairs, Pepperdine has produced a 247-55 overall record to average a .818 success rate. This season, Pepperdine has gone 2-1 at home with a 10-5 pairs output.
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: Â
#2 UCLA: The Bruins currently rank #2 nationally and have posted an 11-2 overall record this season, with a pair of losses to top-ranked LSU.  Last weekend, UCLA took home four wins against #20 Arizona State (4-1), #6 USC (3-2), Oregon (5-0) and Washington (5-0). All-time, UCLA leads the Waves 7-6 overall since the 2013 season. The Waves won the first three meetings by way of sweep before the Bruins took their first win in 2016. Pepperdine won last in 2018, but since then has lost four-straight to the two-time defending NCAA National Champions. It will be the first meeting of these two teams this year.
#5 CAL POLY: The Mustangs currently rank #5 in the nation and have gone 7-2 so far this season. Last week, CP picked up four sweeps over #7 Grand Canyon, ACU, San Diego Community College and Houston Baptist. Earlier this season, the Waves and Mustangs faced off with the latter coming away with a 3-2 win. This season, Cal Poly has lost to Stetson and Florida State. All-time, the Waves have gone 8-2 against the Mustangs, winning the first four-ever matches from 2016-17 with sweeps, before CP picked up a win in 2018. Since then, the Waves had won three-straight before the Mustangs picked up their second-career win against earlier this season.
#6 USC: The Trojans are ranked #6 in the nation this week, tallying a 5-4 overall record with season losses to #14 South Carolina, #7Grand Canyon, #2 UCLA and #9 Cal thus far. Last week, USC split, defeating Stanford and Utah before falling to UCLA and Cal. All-time, USC leads Pepperdine with a 14-13 overall record, dating back to the 2012 season.  From 2012-14, the Waves won six-straight matches before the Trojans won on a neutral court. USC went on a six-match streak of their own from 2016-17, but the Waves went 4-1 against them in 2018. Last season, Pepperdine won one match against, but USC picked up the other three wins throughout the season. It will be the first meeting of these two teams this year.
#18 GEORGIA STATE: Georgia State is ranked #18 in the coaches poll this week after having amassed an 8-3 record this season, dropping matches to Stetson and Florida Atlantic twice. Last week, the Panthers took three sweeps over opponents, defeating Saint Leo, Coastal Carolina and College of Charleston.  All-time, Pepperdine has gone 6-0 against GSU, with wins in every season since 2013, including two sweeps and four 4-1 victories. It will be the first meeting of these two teams this year.
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.Â
Last season, the Waves finished 7th in the NCAA Championships and collected a 20-11 overall record throughout the season.Â
Pepperdine was selected to finish 2nd 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.Â
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.
