Brook Bauer is accustomed to adapting to change and turning any situation into a positive experience. Throughout her career, she has not only played for two accomplished coaches in Nina Matthies and Marcio Sicoli, but has also found consistent success while playing alongside a different doubles partner in each of her first three seasons. All told, Bauer has earned 2019 AVCA All-American honors, placed second at the 2019 USA Collegiate Beach Championships and has won a litany of all-conference awards. We caught up with the rising senior while she quarantines at home in Florida:
 
Q: You've been one of the team's leaders ever since you were a freshman. With that in mind, what are you looking forward to as a leader for your senior campaign?
 
A: It's crazy, looking back on the past three years and coming to the realization that I'm a senior, I don't think I've gotten there yet. Looking back, of course there have been a lot of crazy things that have gone on, but I couldn't be more thankful for the group of girls and that staff that I've had the privilege of being around. We've always been able to take these difficult situations and turn them into something positive, or find motivation out of them.
 
By now, we've gotten used to embracing the chaos. Things are going to happen; life is going to happen. But what I'm looking forward to this year is enjoying the ride and being that steady leader for my team. As we know, this semester is going to be different yet again with quarantine and with health and safety protocols. Like in previous years, I don't think this challenge is going to hold us back. Yes, we're going to have to adapt, but we're used to it.
 
That, paired with the excitement of embracing the change, is the mindset that I'm taking with me going into this year. I think taking advantage of anything that we can in the fall — in any opportunity to get better and closer as a team — because of how difficult it's going to be.
 
Q: How do you and the rest of the team stay positive right now? Do certain individuals lead the charge, or is it a team-wide attitude?
 
A: It definitely comes from the legacy of Pepperdine as a whole, but also specifically from our team's legacy, paved by Nina Matthies and Marcio Sicoli a long time ago, and it's continued. I think the mindset starts there, but it comes out of everyone; it's never specifically one person. It's from everyone actively excited to be together, experience life and find the good in tough situations.
 
College has been very formative for me, in that regard. I've learned you can't predict the future and you don't know what it's going to be like. But you can always learn and thrive in whatever situation you're put in — especially when you have that awesome team and coaches around you to foster that environment. We've learned not to harp on those tough situations, but instead look forward and find the niche ways that we can be better in each of those situations. All of this does stem from the program and the legacy that's been paved before us.
 
Q: What has been the best piece of advice Nina Matthies gave you, either before or after she retired?
 
A: My freshman year was special and a lot of it was because of Nina. I don't remember her directly saying this to me, yet one of the most important lessons she taught me was that life is going to throw a lot at you, but it's all about your attitude. It's all about what you can make of a situation. Nothing is the be-all-end-all, and you can do anything that you put your mind to.
 
When I came into Pepperdine as a freshman, playing with some of the juniors and seniors on the team, it was initially pretty scary. She was able to help me along with the things she instilled in me. She helped me to get comfortable being uncomfortable and to thrive in that environment. As a freshman going into one of the top lines, I was already going to be a little uncomfortable to begin with. But she taught me to think about why that was uncomfortable, and instead to think, "Why is this uncomfortable? This is awesome." And then to go at it with all I have with no regrets.
 
She lit a fire in me that I was able to take on through the rest of my years at Pepperdine — she had this fearless attribute about her that was inspiring not just to me, but everybody who has played for her.
 
Q: As someone who has played for both Nina Matthies and Marcio Sicoli, what would you say are the biggest differences in their coaching styles?
 
A: Nina is going to love you like you're her daughter, but he's going to push you. She'll let you know that. I think that's another reason why we built that grit and determination, because she doesn't hesitate to tell you when you're struggling with something in practice. She's always going to be able to identify what you're struggling with right away. When she was the head coach, Marcio was in charge of running our practices — he brings a lot of great knowledge and skill of the technicalities of the game — and Nina was always there to motivate and oversee everything. She did it all.
 
When Marcio came in as the head coach, he was definitely different. It was fun in different ways. Nina was a motherly figure and was someone that a lot of the girls on the team looked up to, including myself, so the transition was a little different. But I think Marcio did a great job of being himself. You can't really match the esteem that Nina had, but he brought his own version of success in different ways than Nina. Some of those ways involved his sheer knowledge of drills — I don't think I've ever done the same drill in any of my years at Pepperdine. He's an endless mastermind of drills.
 
When I came into Pepperdine, I was a split blocker – I did defense and blocking. Marcio was the first person to tell me that he wanted me as a defender, and that he believed in me. So I attribute a lot of the success I have had at Pepperdine in a defensive role to Marcio. He taught me everything I needed to know about defense and the technical aspects of it. I hadn't ever been solely a defender, so that was definitely a transition. He taught me all the footwork and strategy.
 
I think that balance of learning from Marcio and then learning from Nina in different ways that has helped me overall as a player.
 
Playing for both coaches was cool because as a freshman, I was an 18-year-old who was taking a chance by moving pretty far away from home to go to an amazing beach volleyball program — one that I knew was going to be awesome. But that's intimidating. To feel that Nina and Marcio had that confidence in me early on was another thing that allowed me to dive into Pepperdine's environment and embrace the process. I could feel that both of them were excited about me, and that definitely helped boost my confidence as a young freshman.
 
Q: As you look back on your career thus far, what has been the most memorable in-game experience for you?
 
A: I've had so many awesome experiences. There's definitely benefits to playing with someone all four years because you get more comfortable with each other, know each other's tendencies and you can do better. Looking back, I've been grateful to play with someone new every year because I get to have new experiences with those people, get to know them better and it's a new style of play every year. I've gotten better as a player from that too because it's allowed me to be adaptable. With every single person I've played with, I've had those standout games.
 
Playing with Heidi Dyer during my sophomore year, my opening games at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic in Hawai'i, stand out. Marcio's son was just born, so he wasn't able to come, which was a little chaotic at first. But our team came out with fire and we were dominating the tournament. Specifically, I remember Heidi and I beat Hawai'i on their home court; I'll always remember that. Then we had a grueling back-to-back match against UCLA's McNamara twins; we lost that one, unfortunately, but it was crazy. There was this moment I'll never forget: My team was surrounding the court, was getting super into it, and was side-switching and hyping each other up. It was awesome to be on the beach in Hawai'i experiencing that.
 
Then following my sophomore year, Deahna Kraft and I played in the Collegiate Paris Championship. We grinded through the tournament and it was super fun. Deahna and I are close friends, so I'll always remember how fun this tournament was. We beat LMU in the semis and we beat a ton of really great teams to get to the finals.
 
We ended up getting to play on center court, with matches streamed on NBC, against LSU's Claire Coppola and Kristen Nuss, who are always fun to play against no matter who I've played alongside over the years. That game was a lot of fun too.
 
Q: What has it been like getting to know the new recruits right now, and what have you seen or learned about them that has stood out so far?
 
A: We haven't been able to meet them as a team, so we've only been able to talk to them over Zoom. But I have heard amazing things about the freshmen. I know from what I've heard that they're really hard workers and super good players. There are six of them and they're going to be a big percentage of our team; to know that we have that continued culture coming in of hard workers who love the game is super cool.
 
I did get to meet and train with a couple of them a few weeks ago and they were good. It's exciting. They sound like they're going to fit right in with our team and add some fire. I think the freshmen are confident and they're ready to compete. It's exciting knowing that we have them — especially in my last year at Pepperdine because our end goal is a national championship. I think we're in the right direction, despite not knowing what the fall is going to be like. I'm very confident in this team and I'm excited for what's to come.