MALIBU, Calif. — The #23 Pepperdine women's volleyball team returns to Malibu this week to host Portland and PCH Cup rival LMU in Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
MATCH #12 — Tuesday (September 28) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: #23 Pepperdine vs. Portland at 7 p.m. PT. | Watch: WCC Network.
 
MATCH #13 — Saturday (October 2) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: #23 Pepperdine vs. LMU at 12 p.m. PT. | Watch: WCC Network.
 
LIVE COVERAGE — Live stats will be available for all road and home matches and each match will air 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.
 
TICKETS & SPECTATOR GUIDELINES — Tickets to all Pepperdine home women's volleyball matches in 2021 will be available via e-ticket ONLY. Patrons must purchase tickets to any event prior to arriving on campus. Individuals without tickets to an event will not be allowed on campus. Pepperdine faculty, staff and students must show Pepperdine ID card for entry — no ticket purchase is required.
 
To purchase e-tickets and read the spectator guidelines, visit: www.PepperdineWaves.com/Tickets. Due to campus construction, nearby parking is limited and guests are advised to arrive early.
 
Each match costs $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (65+) and $5 for children and non-Pepperdine students. 
 
MILESTONES & RECORD WATCH — Rachel Ahrens marked a tied career-high 27 kills in the Waves match against #9 Washington this season and in doing so, she surpassed the 1,000 career-kill mark.  She became the 21st Wave to have accomplished the feat and now with 1,084 kills, she ranks tied for 16th in the Pepperdine women's volleyball career record books.  She also has put in 131 career aces during her time with the Waves which ranks 4th in the Pepperdine records.
 
As for the record books, Ahrens has racked up quite a few mentions throughout.  So far, she ranks atop the career Pepperdine records with 0.42 aces/set, and 7th with 4.26 points/set.  Her points/set output makes her the first Wave to crack the points/set top-10 records since Julie Rubenstein did so from 2005-08.  Ahrens also ranks 1st after tabbing 49 total aces in 2019, 2nd in the single-season rally scoring single-season records with 0.44 aces/set, 4th with 4.44 kills/set and 5th with 5.13 points/set. 
 
Isabel Zelaya ranks 6th with 10.52 career assists/set and 9th with 2,262 total assists.  To cap off the single-season rally scoring records, Madison Shields ranks tied-7th with 4.22 digs/set last season.  She also ties for 3rd in the single-match records with 34 digs - both in five sets and overall.
 
SQUAD GOALS — The Waves have had the best start to a season since the 2008 campaign this year and currently are working with a 10-1 overall record.  Pepperdine opened up WCC action with a 2-0 record as well.  This season, the team averages 13.80 kills/set on a .262 success rate, along with 12.59 assists, 1.64 aces, 12.52 digs and 2.12 blocks per set.  The Waves allow opponents 11.45 kills on a .222 clip, with 10.48 assists, 1.27 aces, 11.77 digs and 2.18 blocks per set on average as well. 
 
Rachel Ahrens leads the pack with 4.77 kills/set on a .284 hitting percentage, along with 0.66 aces, 1.77 digs and 0.61 blocks per set.  Grace Chillingworth and Meg Brown have also put in 2.93 and 2.55 kills/set respectively, while Brown has amassed 0.91 blocks and 0.30 aces per set as well.  Rosie Ballo leads at the net with 1.11 blocks/set, totaling 42 blocks with three solo rejections for the Waves.  Madison Shields is instrumental on the back line, posting 3.64 digs/set with 160 total digs.  She also puts in 0.82 assists/set for the Waves on average.  Isabel Zelaya serves as the primary playmaker for Pepperdine with 11.00 assists/set and 484 total assists.
 
LAST WEEK — Last week, the Waves went 2-0 to open WCC action, sweeping San Francisco and reverse-sweeping Santa Clara.  In the match at USF, the Waves dominated with 25-13, 25-20 and 25-13 final scores.  The Waves posted 42 smashes on an impressive .356 clip, while adding four aces, 38 digs and 8.0 team blocks.  Pepperdine allowed the opponents only 22 kills on a .047 clip, along with three aces, 30 digs and 4.0 team blocks.  Rachel Ahrens led the squad with 16 kills on a .452 success rate, while Grace Chillingworth and Meg Brown added seven and six kills respectively.  Brown led the Waves with four blocks, while Emma Ammerman, Rosie Ballo and Isabel Zelaya tabbed three each.  Zelaya also led the Waves to the impressive hitting percentage by dishing out 33 assists and added three kills on a .750 with one ace.  Kayla Joyce led the team with 10 digs.
 
In the second matchup at Santa Clara, the Waves were put to the test, falling behind with 25-21 and 27-25 set losses before rallying to win the final sets 25-21, 25-23 and 15-13.  Pepperdine amassed 71 total kills on a .244 output, while adding three aces, 59 digs and 7.0 blocks.  The Broncos were able to post 60 kills on a .232 clip with 10 aces, 49 digs and 16.5 blocks.  Ahrens led the Waves once again with a career-high 28 kills and added her 6th career double-double with 10 digs as well.  She had a team-best four blocks and an ace as well.  Brown and Chillingworth each posted 14 and 12 kills respectively and Ballo also added three blocks.  Zelaya dished out 49 assists and tabbed nine digs.  Madison Shields was solid in the back row, keeping the opposition to a low attack output, while posting her first career double-double with season-high 22 digs and a career-best 10 assists. 
 
THE COMPETITION — Pepperdine has gone 62-6 against Portland all-time, dating back to 1987 when the team's first faced and the Waves swept on the road.  Last season, the Waves won both road matches, with four-set and three-set victories.  This season, the Pilots have gone 4-6 overall and started league action with a sweeping win over Gonzaga.
 
Pepperdine has posted a 60-24 all-time record against PCH Cup rival LMU since 1976 when the Waves downed the Lions 3-0.  Last season, Pepperdine defeated LMU in both contests, with four-set and three-set victories.  LMU was the only team the Waves played both home and away contests against.  The Lions have gone 11-1 so far this season overall and started WCC play with a pair of wins over Santa Clara (3-1) and San Francisco (3-0). 
 
WEEKLY HONORS — This week, Madison Shields garnered her first WCC defensive player of the week nod of the season.  It's the fourth of her career as well.  She was instrumental in the Waves success this past weekend, helping her team to a 2-0 open to WCC action with a sweep over San Francisco and a reverse sweep over Santa Clara, both on the road.  She averaged 3.50 digs, 0.13 aces and 1.50 assists per set for Pepperdine throughout the two matches and eight sets of action.  Shields put in 28 digs, 12 assists an ace in total.  In the second matchup at SCU, Shields was unstoppable in the back row, amassing her first career double-double with a season-high 22 digs and a career-best 10 assists.  She averaged 4.40 digs and 2.00 assists, along with 0.20 aces per set throughout the match.  She did not have any reception errors against the Broncos either, while keeping the opposition to 60 kills on a .232 clip.
 
Earlier, in the opening week of West Coast Conference weekly honors, the Waves swept with Rachel Ahrens and Meg Brown picking up the nods.  Ahrens has earned the offensive honor six times throughout her career and Brown has picked up the defensive accolade twice thus far.