#10 Waves Open Season against #4 USC, #19 Stanford this Week

Thursday, February 25

Los Angeles, Calif.

11:00 a.m. PT

Pepperdine University

USC

Photo by: Jeff Golden

#10 Waves Open Season against #4 USC, #19 Stanford this Week

2/24/2021 12:09:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball

By: by Athletic Communications

MALIBU, Calif. – The #10 Pepperdine beach volleyball team will open the 2021 season on Thursday with a pair of duals against #4 USC. The Waves will then return to Malibu to host #19 Stanford on Sunday.

DUAL 1: Thursday (February 25) in Los Angeles, Calif.: #10 Pepperdine at #4 USC at 11 a.m. PT.

DUAL 2: Thursday (February 25) in Los Angeles, Calif.: #10 Pepperdine at #4 USC at 1 p.m. PT.

DUAL 3: Sunday (February 28) in Malibu, Calif.: #10 Pepperdine vs. #19 Stanford at 11 a.m. PT.

COVERAGE: The duals at USC will not have live stream or scoring available. Whatever updates made available can be found on Twitter @WavesBeachVB. All matches played in Malibu will have live tweeting available. Additionally, go to PepperdineWaves.com for recaps, results, updates and more.

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.

LOOKING AHEAD: After the first week of competition, the Waves will head into March with some more strong opponents, first playing #16 Long Beach State and #4 USC with a tri-team tournament in Malibu on March 7.

WAVES WEATHER: On Thursday in LA, the Waves can expect 73˚ and sunny with winds shifting from 10 to 15 miles per hour. In Malibu on Sunday, the forecast tells of a sunny high of 68˚ with winds heading north and holding between 15 to 25 miles per hour, with gusts over 40 miles per hour.

WAVE REPORT: Pepperdine returns 13 players to the sand this year, with six starters on the squad as well. Those returning include graduate student Carly Skjodt, seniors Brook Bauer, Alexis Filippone and Katie Gavin, juniors Melanie Paul, Michaela Kasper, Maddy Bailey, Simone Priebe and Peyton Lewis and sophomores Brigid Rasmussen, Mary Sinclair, Sutton Mactavish and Alisa Leeds.

Of those returning, Bauer, Filippone, Mactavish, Skjodt, Paul and Priebe played in all seven matches last season before the campaign was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also joining the ranks for each of their true freshman campaign are Jordan Benoit, Cameron Baklenko, Gracie Pedersen, Cameron Dueck, Calista Wright and Kristine Briede.

OPPONENT NOTES: USC enters the season ranked #4 in the AVCA Coaches Poll and will open the campaign against Pepperdine this Thursday. The Trojans lead the Waves all-time with a 15-13 record dating back to 2012 when the Waves won the first contest 3-2. Pepperdine then went on a six-match winning streak and went 7-1 against the Trojans, with USC tabbing their first victory against in 2014. In the last three years from 2018-20, Pepperdine and USC have gone an even 5-5 against each other with the Waves posting a 3-0 record at home, a 2-2 record on the road and a 0-3 record on neutral sand.

Stanford enters the 2021 campaign ranked #19 in the preseason poll and will face both Long Beach State and UCLA on the road on Friday and Saturday before making the journey to Malibu on Sunday. The Waves and Cardinal have faced only twice all-time, both in 2019 when Pepperdine took both victories, first with a 3-2 neutral victory and then with a 4-1 victory at Zuma Beach.

PRESEASON POLLS AND ACCOLADES: Five Waves were tabbed to the West Coast Conference preseason squad, with Brook Bauer earning her third-straight preseason honor. Alexis Filippone, Melanie Paul, Simone Priebe and Carly Skjodt also garnered a spot on the WCC All-Preseason team. Only three teams had players earn a spot on the squad, while the only other school to place five on as well was PCH Cup rival LMU.

Pepperdine heads into the season ranked #10 in the AVCA Coaches Poll and was selected to finish 2^nd in the conference by the WCC Head Coaches this season.

FOLLOW: Follow @WavesBeachVB on Facebook and Twitter for updates and check on PepperdineWaves.com for full results, recaps and more. Follow @peppbeachvolley on Instagram for an inside look at the Waves' team culture and check out @PepperdineWaves for the scoop on all the Waves' programs throughout the year.