#8 Pepperdine Faces Slew of Opponents this Week

MALIBU, Calif. – The #8 Pepperdine beach volleyball team will face a string of opponents this week, first welcoming #4 UCLA to Malibu for a pair of matches before traveling to Irvine for duals against PCH Cup rival #7 LMU and unranked Concordia.

DUAL 10: Thursday (March 25) in Malibu, Calif.: #8 Pepperdine vs. #4 UCLA at 10 a.m. PT.

DUAL 11: Thursday (March 25) in Malibu, Calif.: #8 Pepperdine at #4 UCLA at 12 p.m. PT.

DUAL 12: Saturday (March 27) in Irvine, Calif.: #8 Pepperdine vs. #7 LMU at 12 p.m. PT.

DUAL 13: Saturday (March 27) in Irvine, Calif.: #8 Pepperdine at Concordia at 2 p.m. PT.

COVERAGE: All matches played in Malibu will have live tweeting available @WavesBeachVB. If live stream or scoring become available for the matches in Irvine, those links will be available on www.PepperdineWaves.com. Additionally, all links to all available coverage throughout the season can be found on www.PepperdineWaves.com, along with 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: Next week, the Waves host #4 UCLA in Malibu on Thursday, before hitting the road for duals against Concordia and PCH Cup rival #7 LMU on Saturday.
WAVES WEATHER: The weather in Malibu on Thursday calls for a high of 60˚ with considerable cloud cover early in the day. Though clouds will decrease later in the day, south to southeast winds will shift to the west and reach 15 to 25 miles per hour throughout the day. There is a 16 percent chance of rain.

On Saturday in Irvine, the temperature will reach a high of 73˚ with sunny skies and winds running north to west at 10 to 15 miles per hour throughout the day.

WAVE REPORT: The Waves have gone 2-7 overall this season, with eight of those matches being against AVCA nationally ranked top-10 opponents. Pepperdine has faced top-ranked USC four times this season and though fallen in those competitions, has taken at least one points off the Trojans in three of those matches. The Waves are the only program in the nation to have accomplished that feat even once. Previously, Pepperdine also faced the #4 Bruins twice on the road, falling 4-1 each time.

Melanie Paul and Simone Priebe have won the most individual matches for the Waves with a 5-4 overall record, including a 3-1 output in the No. 3 position, a 2-1 record in the No. 2 slot and also having played a pair of matches in the top-spot for the Waves.

Brook Bauer and Carly Skjodt have won four matches as a pairing, two in the top spot as well as a 2-0 record in the No. 2 position. The duo is currently on a three-match winning streak. Alexis Filippone and Sutton Mactavish are the next pair to have won more than a match with three victories on the season thus far, two of which came in the No. 3 position while one was when the pair was playing in the No. 2 position.

Other pairs to have won matches were Calista Wright and Mary Sinclair and Jordan Benoit and Sinclair, each in the No. 4 position, while Katie Gavin and Michaela Kasper collected a victory in the No. 5 spot.

OPPONENT NOTES: The Waves have matched up with the Bruins 16 times throughout the program's history and UCLA has amassed an 10-6 overall record against since 2013. The first time the teams faced was 2013 through when the Waves won three separate matchups with 5-0 decisions. UCLA then won the program's first match against Pepperdine in 2016 with a pair of 3-2 victories. The Bruins have currently won seven-straight matches against the Waves since 2018, including the two 4-1 wins earlier this season. UCLA has gone 6-1 so far in 2021, falling only to top-ranked USC by way of sweep.

Pepperdine has faced Concordia twice all-time, both with 5-0 results, first in 2015 and then just last week in 2021. This season, the Eagles have gone 2-3 with wins over CSUN and The Master's and losses to #7 LMU and then-ranked #8 Cal.

This will be the first meeting against PCH Cup rival LMU this season, though the Waves have gone 11-3 against the Lions all-time since 2012. Pepperdine won the first 11-matches from 2012 to 2019 before the Lions took home a pair of wins to take the West Coast Conference tournament title in 2019. The two teams faced only once last season before things were cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Lions took a 3-2 win on neutral sand. This season, LMU has gone 12-2 overall, falling only to top-ranked Florida State 4-1 and top-ranked USC 5-0. The only ranked wins the Lions have charted have been against #8 Cal (4-1) and #17 Long Beach State (3-2).

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.

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Players Mentioned

Brook Bauer

Jordan Benoit

Alexis Filippone

Katie Gavin

Michaela Kasper

Sutton Mactavish

Melanie Paul

Simone Priebe

Mary Sinclair

Carly Skjodt

Calista Wright

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