MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team will be back in action in Firestone Fieldhouse this week, after nearly a year and two months, beginning the 2020-21 season against West Coast Conference opponent San Francisco.
 
MATCH #1 — Tuesday (January 26) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. San Francisco at 7 p.m. PT
 
MATCH #2 — Wednesday (January 27) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. San Francisco at 6 p.m. PT
 
WAVECASTS — The San Francisco matches can be watched online via WaveCasts at PepperdineWaves.com.  Veteran play-by-play man El Epstein, a 2015 Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame inductee who is now in his 36^th season, will be behind the microphone. 
 
HOME 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 games in Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
FURTHER COVERAGE — Live stats will be provided for all Pepperdine matches, while live video will not.    All links are available on PepperdineWaves.com.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA — Follow @WavesVolleyball on Twitter for updates and check out PepperdineWaves.com and Facebook (/WavesVolleyball) for releases and more information.
 
COMPETING WITH PURPOSE — The Pepperdine University Athletics Department 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 that we dedicate ourselves to daily.
 
SQUAD GOALS — Pepperdine carries over four starters and 10 letterwinners from the 2019 squad, a team that finished 3^rd in the West Coast Conference.  The team has also welcomed four newcomers with the addition of three freshmen and one transfer.
 
Included in the top-returners are two seniors, outside hitter Shannon Scully and middle blocker Alli O'Harra.  Scully garnered AVCA All-Pacific South Region honorable mention status in 2019, along with All-WCC first team acclaim.  In the summer, she earned a spot on both the U.S. Collegiate National Team Gold and Spring Training rosters.  Scully started all 29 matches and played in all 114 sets, averaging 3.23 kills/set, 3.04 digs/set and 0.23 aces/set.  O'Harra received WCC All-Academic second team honors.  She played in all 29 matches and started 27 last season, marking 161 kills on a .248 hitting %, while adding 1.44 kills/set and 0.80 blocks/set.
 
Other starters returning are junior Rachel Ahrens and sophomore setter Isabel Zelaya.  Though not starting a match, junior defensive specialist Madison Shields was also the first off the bench in 109 sets as well last season.  Ahrens received All-WCC second team honors last season, and with 25 starts led the team with a Pepperdine women's volleyball program-best 49 aces.  She led with 0.43 aces/set and added 2.58 kills/set and 0.66 blocks/set.  Zelaya picked up WCC All-Freshman honors after leading the Waves with 872 total assists and 9.69 assists/set.  She also amassed 194 digs to average 2.16 digs/set and led the Waves in assists in 21 matches.  Shields picked up a WCC All-Academic first team nod off the court, while posting 1.96 digs/set and 370 service receptions with a .949 receiving percentage on the court.
 
Other returners include juniors Rosie Ballo, Lily Dyer and Savana Greene and sophomores Kayleigh Hames, Tayah Mahi and Aubrey Roberts.
 
Pepperdine also adds four new Waves to the squad, with one sophomore transfer from CSU Chico and Feather River College, Kayla Joyce and freshmen Emma Ammerman, Meg Brown and Kennedi Steele.
 
WCC PRESEASON POLL & HONORS — The Waves had three honored with an All-WCC Preseson Team selection, including Shannon Scully, Rachel Ahrens and Isabel Zelaya.  Pepperdine was selected to finish third in the West Coast Conference this season by the coaches in the league and picked up two first place votes in the process.  San Diego earned the top spot, with BYU close behind.  Santa Clara, Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary's, Pacific, Gonzaga, San Francisco and Portland rounded out the coaches poll inn that order.
 
POSITION BREAKDOWNS:
CANNONS — Shannon Scully, Rachel Ahrens, Savana Greene, Kayleigh Hames, Emma Ammerman
MALIBU ROOFING COMPANY — Alli O'Harra, Rosie Ballo, Meg Brown
PLAYMAKERS — Isabel Zelaya, Tayah Mahi and Lily Dyer.
CAN YOU DIG IT? — Madison Shields, Aubrey Roberts, Kayla Joyce, Kennedi Steele
 
THE COMPETITION — The Dons enter the new season ranked #9 in the WCC Coaches Poll.  Last season, USF finished with an 8-21 overall record and a 4-14 record in the league.  The two team's first faced in 1985 when Pepperdine won in four sets.  Last season, the Waves bested the Dons twice, winning in four sets at home and three sets on the road.  All-time, Pepperdine has gone 63-7 over San Francisco.
 
2019 RECAP — The Waves finished last season with an 18-11 overall record and a 14-4 West Coast Conference record.  Pepperdine went 11-5 in Firestone Fieldhouse, 6-5 on the road and 1-1 on neutral courts.  The team produced 13.43 kills/set on a .246 success rate, with 12.46 assists/set, 1.68 aces/set, 14.39 digs/set and 2.20 blocks/set.  Shannon Scully and Rachel Ahrens led the attack front with 3.23 and 2.58 kills/set respectively, while Ahrens also led at the service line with an impressive 0.43 aces/set and 49 total aces tabbed.  Of the returners on the defensive front, O'Harra led with 0.80 blocks/set and Scully leads with 3.04 digs/set.
 
SCULLY AND TEAM USA — Senior Shannon Scully had quite the summer, earning spots on a pair of U.S. rosters with the Collegiate National Team Gold and Spring Training rosters, though the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the summer's practices and competitions.
 
WAVES ON ICE? — Sophomore defensive specialist Madison 'Mad Dog' Shields didn't just grow up playing volleyball, she started her athletic career playing ice hockey.  Her stepsiblings played the sport and after taking basic lessons, she started to love it so much she joined a team.  That team happened to be an all-guys team, but checking was not yet allowed.  Shields stated, "I was on the team for two years and it was mentally challenging. It made me a more disciplined athlete and it made me want to work harder.  It helped me realize how to be a next-level athlete.
 
SCOTT WONG — Pepperdine alum Scott Wong was named head coach in December 2014, becoming the fifth head coach in program history.  In first five seasons at the helm of the Waves, he amassed a 86-66 overall record for Pepperdine.  He helped the program to its first NCAA appearance since 2012 in the 2018 campaign after leading the Waves to a 22-9 overall season and a NCAA second round finish.   He was an assistant with the Waves' men's program from 2005-09 (and was part of the 2005 NCAA championship-winning team) before moving back to his home state of Hawaii and serving as associate coach with the Rainbows' women's squad for five seasons.  He was also Hawaii's sand volleyball head coach.  Wong was a three-time All-American with the Waves between 1998-01.
 
THE SIDELINES — Along with Head Coach Scott Wong, Tara Hittle returns for her second season on the sidelines as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator in 2021.  Additionally, the program recruited Steve Astor and John Anselmo to the coaching staff as assistant coach and volunteer assistant coach respectively.  Hittle is a former NCAA Division I multi-sport student-athlete and professional volleyball player.  She graduated from University of Hawai'i after playing both basketball and volleyball and helping the Rainbow Wahine to a pair of NCAA Elite 8 appearances in 2006 and 2007 as well as Sweet 16 berths in 2004 and 2005.  Astor graduated from Vanguard in 2012.  He brings over 20 years of coaching experience, spanning multiple sports at various levels, including college, high school and club to the program.  He most recently comes after having served as a volunteer assistant at University of Washington.  Anselmo joined the squad and brings a wealth of experience, both from the hardwood and the beach.  His most recent coaching position was held at West LA College, where he served as head coach of the women's volleyball program, as well as serving as an adjunct instructor teaching Kinesiology.
 
INDOOR VOLLEYBALL HISTORY — The Pepperdine women's volleyball program is synonymous with the word excellence, as the Waves are a perennial national power.  The Waves have advanced to postseason play 28 times in 45 seasons, including 14 trips to the NCAA Championships in the last 22 seasons.  Pepperdine's best finishes in recent years came when the team made the regional final of the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and again in 2011.  Ten players have earned AVCA or Volleyball Magazine All-American honors a combined 19 times, while six players have been dubbed the WCC Player of the Year nine total times.  Nina Matthies, who stepped down after the 2013 season, was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in December, 2015.
 
ABOUT PEPPERDINE — 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 17 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, Calif., 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 No. 49 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
 
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