MALIBU, California — The #7 Pepperdine men's volleyball team begins a very different 2021 season with a home-and-home series against #12 Concordia. The Waves will play 20 regular-season matches, all against fellow Mountain Pacific Sports Federation schools.
MATCH #1 — Monday (January 25) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, California: #7 Pepperdine (0-0) vs. #12 Concordia (0-0) at 7 p.m.
MATCH #2 — Wednesday (January 27) at the CU Arena in Irvine, California: #7 Pepperdine vs. #12 Concordia at 7 p.m.
WATCH/ONLINE — All home matches will be streamed online via WaveCasts with Pepperdine Hall of Famer Al Epstein on the call. Wednesday's match will be streamed by cuieagles.com. Links to broadcasts and live stats can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.
ATTENDANCE — Per the current COVID-19 guidelines set by the state of California and Los Angeles County, fans will not be permitted to attend home matches.
OPPONENT — Pepperdine is 6-0 all-time against Concordia, 4-0 in Firestone Fieldhouse and 2-0 in Irvine. Last year's single meeting went five sets in Firestone Fieldhouse.
AVCA POLL — The Waves are tied for seventh in the 2021 preseason poll, up a spot from the #8 position they were in when the 2020 season was canceled. Other ranked MPSF teams include #1 BYU, #9 UCLA, #10 Grand Canyon, #12 Concordia and #15 Stanford.
MPSF — The MPSF is only playing conference matches in 2021 ... The Waves were picked second in the MPSF preseason coaches poll. The order went as follows: BYU, Pepperdine, UCLA, Grand Canyon, Concordia, Stanford and USC.
ROSTER NUMBERS — Pepperdine returns all six starters from a year ago, only losing last year's libero, and has eight players back who started at least half the season's matches.
Noah Dyer and
Austin Wilmot are returning All-Americans, as both received AVCA honorable mention status. Dyer elected to return for a fifth season under the NCAA's COVID-19 redshirt waiver. Setter
Joe Karlous made the MPSF All-Freshman team. Last year's Waves brought back just 3% of the kill total from the 2019 MPSF champions. The 2021 Waves return 99.3% of the 2020 kill totals. Pepperdine's roster consists of one graduate transfer, six seniors, one junior, five sophomores, four redshirt freshmen and six true freshmen.
USA VOLLEYBALL — Three Waves had USA Volleyball invites this past summer (though none were able to participate due to the pandemic).
Alex Gettinger made the USA Volleyball Collegiate National Team, while
Joe Karlous and
Bryce Dvorak were picked to the Junior National Training Team.
2020 SEASON — The Waves were coming off their best season in a decade, with MPSF regular-season and tournament titles and a spot in the 2019 NCAA semifinals. But last year's Waves had to replace five starters and most of their production. A younger Pepperdine squad fared well, ranking eighth in the country when the COVID-19 cancelation took place in mid-March. The Waves finished with an 8-6 record overall and 3-2 in the MPSF.
PEPPERDINE VOLLEYBALL — Pepperdine has won five NCAA men's volleyball championships, second only to UCLA. Coaching legend
Marv Dunphy stepped down after the 2017 season. He won four of the NCAA titles, plus 612* matches over his 34 years with the Waves. Pepperdine has won 16* regular-season or tournament conference titles. The Waves have finished in the top six in the final AVCA poll in 18 of the last 24 seasons, and in the top 10 in 23 of the last 24 years. A Pepperdine alum has competed at the Olympics every time since 1984 (Sean Rooney was the most recent to medal, winning gold in 2008).
COMPETING WITH PURPOSE — The Pepperdine University Department of Athletics is committed to Christian values, to the academic well-being of all our student-athletes and to competing for championships. The Competing With Purpose campaign highlights the commitment to our core values. Learn more about our exceptional student-athletes at www.PepperdineWaves.com.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY — 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 18 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, California, 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 #49 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
