MALIBU, CALIF. – Head Coach Marcio Sicoli and his staff added six Waves to the Pepperdine beach volleyball team's 2020-21 roster on Thursday afternoon.  He and the team welcomed Cameron Baklenko, Jordan Benoit, Kristine Briede, Cameron Dueck, Gracie Pedersen and Calista Wright to the program.
 
"Jon, Delaney and I are really excited with our strong 2020 class," said Sicoli.  "We have a mix of physicality and fitness, which will make our program balanced and provide depth for next season. 
 
"I'm confident our incoming class will impact not only flights one through five in a big way, but our daily workouts on the beach and the gym.  I look forward to coaching them at Zuma Beach and making them succeed on and off the sand!"
 
Cameron Baklenko, originally from Thousand Oaks, Calif., will join the program after graduating from Weslake High School in 2020.  On the beach, she most recently competed for Oaks Volleyball Club and Elite Beach, while she has previously played for Island Thunder Volleyball Club and Thunder Elite Beach.  She helped her team to a gold medal at the U12 USA Beach National Championships and was a member of both A1 and A2 USA beach teams.
 
"Pepperdine felt like home," said Baklenko.  "It is where I can challenge myself through athletics, academics and faith to live a life of greater purpose."
 
Additionally, she was enrolled in multiple honors and AP classes while earning a 4.38 grade point average.  She was nominated for the National Honors Society, and was a constant honoree on the Dean's List and Highest Honors academic achievement.
 
Jordan Benoit, native of Naples, Fla. and 2020 graduate of First Baptist Academy will also join the squad. She earned First All-Area Volleyball Team accolades in both 2018 and 2019 with FBA.  On the club level, she played with Vibe Volleyball Club for 10 years.  In 2015 and 2016, she competed at the USA High Performance A1 indoor volleyball showing and on the beach, she competed at the USA High Performance A1.
 
"Pepperdine's impeccable academics and its athletics community drew me to the University," said Benoit.  "Not to mention the view, Pepperdine is an all-around perfect school."
 
In the classroom, Benoit was a member of the National Honors Society as well.
 
Kristine Briede will be the second international player in the program's history, with the first being current Chilean junior Melanie Paul.  Briede is from Balozi, Latvia and graduated from Riga State Gymnasium No. 2 in 2020.  She played for Riga Volleyball School for three years before moving to Beach Box to play beach volleyball under notable Olympic coach Genādijs Samoilovs.  

Briede helped her team to Latvian underage indoor volleyball championships in 2014, 2015 and 2016. She led her team to a 4^th place finish at the U18 EEVZA Championship and a 5^th pace finish in the U18 European Championship. On the beach, she earned 1^st place finishes for her U17 and U19 teams at the Latvian Beach Volleyball Championships, while also placing 2^nd and 3^rd at the adult level for the Latvian Beach Volleyball Championships.

"When I saw where Pepperdine was located and got to know more about the team and community there, I was sure that I wanted to study there," said Briede.  "What could be better than playing beach volleyball and studying at a great school next to the ocean."
 
In the classroom, she finished Middle Years program and received third place in the Riga State biology Olympiad. 
 
Cameron Dueck, originally from Aptos, Calif., graduated from Aptos HS in 2020.  In addition to playing volleyball, she also competed on the varsity water polo team for AHS.  She played for Santa Cruz Beach Club from 2014-19 and also competed for Main Beach Volleyball Club and Rage Westside in Northern California.  She competed with USAV High Performance teams for both indoor and beach.  She medaled in multiple USAV, AAU, CBVA and AVPFirst beach tournaments and earned multiple bids to qualifiers across the nation, while also placing second in the AVP Women's Open.
 
"The highly respected academics, incredible coaching staff and world class beach volleyball program at Pepperdine is what drew me in to the University," said Dueck.  "Pepperdine's close community, Christian foundation and positive environment confirmed my decision to spend the next four years in a place that feels like home.  I cannot wait to compete at the highest collegiate level and work to pursue an NCAA national title."
 
In the classroom, she received the Aptos High Academic and Citizenship Award and was an honored member of the National Society of High School Scholars.  She was chosen to be a part of the Envision National Youth Leadership Form for engineering and technology and garnered the National Academic of Future Scientist and Technologist Award of Excellence.  She is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and she won the Scholar-Athlete award at AHS.
 
Gracie Pedersen, native of Franklin, Tenn., graduated from Brentwood Academy in 2020 and lettered multiple years in indoor volleyball as an outside hitter.  In her senior season, she earned All-Tennessee Region first team honors and served as captain of her varsity squad.  As a junior, she was named to AVCA's UnderArmour National Phenom Watch List, to the All-Tennessee Region first team and again was a captain of the team.  She earned multiple Brentwood Athlete of the Week honors during her high school career and helped lead the team to a 3^rd place finish in State during her sophomore season.
 
"The beach volleyball program is amazing," said Pedersen about why we chose Pepperdine.  "The academics are rigorous, the campus is gorgeous, but most importantly, Pepperdine's Christian mission drew me to the school."
 
In the classroom, she was a member of the National Honor Society and earned a spot on both the Headmaster's Honor Roll and the FHS Honor Roll.  Pedersen also lettered in swimming while in high school.
 
Pedersen competed in the USA High Performance A1 Indoor Volleyball program, attending the Elite Prospect Camp in Colorado and served as a member of the USA High Performance Continental Team and USA High Performance A2 Beach Volleyball squad.  She also competed for two years at John Hyder Training Academy for the Elite Team, while also playing for Alliance Indoor Club from ages eight to 15 and Tennessee Performance Indoor Club for one year on the 17's squad at age 16.  She helped JHTA place in the top-10 of many national beach tournaments throughout her tenure with the squad.
 
Calista Wright, originally from Thousand Oaks, Calif., graduated from Westlake High School in 2020, while also spending time at Grace Brethren High School for freshman through junior years.  As a freshman at Grace Brethren HS, she earned second team All-League, helped her squad to a CIF Division 8 Championship title and was a member of the USA Beach A1 High Performance Team.  As a junior at GBHS, she led the team to a League Championship title, CIF Division 6 Championship crown and was voted CIF Division 6 Player of the Year and first team All-League.  She also competed as a USA Beach A1 High Performance Team selection and finished 4^th at the USA Beach Volleyball Championships.  As a senior at Westlake, she once again helped her team to a League Championship crown, while posting the highest hitting percentage for her team throughout the year and earning a scholar-athlete award. 
 
"It has always been my dream to attend Pepperdine and play in the Olympics, and I believe that is now possible for me with the opportunity to train under Marcio Sicoli," said Wright.
 
Wright also will be traveling to Poland in 2020 for the Deaf Olympic Trials and is hopeful to compete in the 2021 Deaf Olympics.  She played for Oaks Volleyball Club for 11 years, leading the team to a 4^th place finish at the USA Beach High Performance Championships in 2019.  In both 2018 and 2017, she and her team finished 9^th at the USA Beach High Performance Championships.
 
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