MALIBU, Calif. — After a successful opening week in Firestone Fieldhouse, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team will now hit the road and travel up north to continue West Coast Conference action, challenging Saint Mary's at UCU Pavilion on Tuesday and Wednesday. 
 
MATCH #3 — Tuesday (February 2) at UCU Pavilion in Moraga, Calif.: Pepperdine at Saint Mary's at 2 p.m. PT
 
MATCH #4 — Wednesday (February 3) at UCU Pavilion in Moraga, Calif.: Pepperdine at Saint Mary's at 2 p.m. PT
 
LIVE — Live stream and live stats will be available for both road matches, with all West Coast Conference matches going live on the WCC Network. Links can be found on PepperdineWaves.com.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA — Follow @WavesVolleyball on Twitter for updates and check out PepperdineWaves.com and Facebook (/WavesVolleyball) for releases and more information.
 
OPENING WEEK — Pepperdine had a strong opening week, kicking off the season and WCC action with a pair of victories over San Francisco at home.  The Waves first swept the Dons in straight sets on Tuesday night for the opener, collecting on 25-12, 25-21 and 25-20 set scores.  The squad then rallied from a first set 25-23 loss in the second match of the week, to overcome the opposition with 31-29, 25-17 and 25-22 final set scores for the win.
 
The Waves outperformed the Dons in all areas in the first matchup, hitting 39 kills on a .245 success rate with three aces, 58 digs and an impressive 12.0 blocks.  The opponents were able to post 31 kills, while being held to a .066 clip along with no aces, 55 digs and only 3.0 blocks.  Rachel Ahrens led the Waves with 10 kills, while posting a tied career-best six blocks and adding seven digs.  Shannon Scully and Meg Brown added eight kills apiece, with Scully adding 12 digs and four blocks and Brown posting a .500 hitting percentage and posting four blocks as well.  Isabel Zelaya led the team offensive efforts with 33 assists and posted her first double-double of the season with 15 digs.  Madison Shields amassed a career-best 18 digs to lead the Pepperdine back row.
 
In the second match of the week, the Waves once again led in most efforts, though each side of the court amassed 61 total kills.  Pepperdine's .278 clip to USF's .221 output helped the cause, however, and the Waves kept pounding down with five aces, 73 digs and 8.0 team blocks as opposed to the Dons' two aces, 70 digs and 3.0 blocks.  Ahrens once again led the home team's attack effort with 18 kills on a .306 output.  She added her first double-double of the season, and third-career, by adding an impressive 16 digs.  Zelaya also added another double-double with 46 assists and 12 digs, while adding a career-best six blocks.  Brown impressed with 12 kills on a .588 clip and produced five blocks in the effort as well.  Emma Ammerman came off the bench to astound with 15 kills on a .387 clip and Scully was good for nine kills and 10 digs.  Shields once again tied her career-best with 18 digs and was unstoppable in the back row with 38 successful service attempts with not a single error on the night.
 
SQUAD GOALS — As a team, the Waves are producing 14.29 kills/set on a .265 success rate, 13.14 assists/set, 1.14 aces/set, 18.71 digs/set and 2.86 blocks/set.  After two matches played, they have allowed only 13.14 kills/set on a .156 output, with 12.57 assists/set, 0.29 aces/set, 17.86 digs/set and 0.86 blocks/set to opponents.  In seven total sets played this season, Pepperdine has won six.
 
Rachel Ahrens, Emma Ammerman, Meg Brown and Shannon Scully lead the offensive efforts for the Waves with 4.00, 3.17, 2.86 and 2.43 kills/set respectively.  Ahrens posts a well-rounded presence by adding 0.29 aces/set, 3.29 digs/set and 1.00 blocks/set after a pair of matches.  Freshmen Brown and Ammerman came in ready to show their talents, posting 0.548 and 0.539 hitting percentages respectively.  Brown added a team-high 1.29 blocks/set.  Scully also posted a good well-rounded effort in addition to her attack efforts, posting 3.14 digs/set, 0.71 blocks/set and 0.29 aces/set for the Waves.  Alli O'Harra led the Waves net presence with 1.57 blocks/set after 11 total blocks as well.
 
Isabel Zelaya leads the playmaking duties with 11.29 assists/set, ranking 18th nationally in the category.  She also adds 3.86 digs/set and 1.00 blocks/set.  Madison Shields was impressive in the back row, leading the team and ranking 35th nationally with 5.14 digs/set.
 
THE COMPETITION — Saint Mary's opened the season down the road at PCH Cup rival LMU, splitting the matches to post a 1-1 record after the first week of play.  In the opener, the Gaels dropped a four-set decision to the Lions, but SMC rallied in the second match of the week to take a five-set hard-fought win, including a 17-15 final set score.  The Gaels have posted 10.22 kills/set on a .188 clip, with 9.00 assists/set, 1.11 aces/set, 12.00 digs/set and 1.89 blocks/set. 
 
All-time, the Waves lead the Gaels 50-16.  The two teams first faced in 1987, when Pepperdine won 3-0 on the road.  The Waves then won the next 13 matches before the Gaels picked up their first win - a five-set victory in Moraga in 1994.  Pepperdine then went on another 18-match winning streak from 1995-2003.  Since 2016, the Waves have gone 6-2 against the Gaels, including a split season in 2019 when each team won at home.
 
WCC PRESEASON POLL & HONORS — The Waves had three honored with an All-WCC Preseason 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 in that order.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.