MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team has three matches left in the 2022 regular season, all to be played at home.  The Waves will host #17 BYU, #2 San Diego and unranked Portland in Firestone Fieldhouse on Thursday, Saturday and Tuesday respectively. 

Saturday against the Toreros will serve as Senior Day and Kayleigh Hames, Riley Patterson and Isabel Zelaya will be honored prior to first serve.

MATCH #27 — Thursday (November 17) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. #17 BYU at 7 p.m.  | Watch: WCC Network

MATCH #28 — Saturday (November 19) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. San Diego at 12 p.m.  | Watch: WCC Network

MATCH #29 — Tuesday (November 22) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. Portland at 1 p.m.  | Watch: WCC Network

SOCIAL MEDIA — Follow @WavesVolleyball on Twitter for updates and check out PepperdineWaves.com and Facebook (/WavesVolleyball) for releases and more information.

COVERAGE — The matches will have live stats and streams available with links to be found on PepperdineWaves.com. All matches will air on the WCC Network.

TICKETS & SPECTATOR GUIDELINES — Tickets to all Pepperdine home women's volleyball matches in 2022 will be available via e-ticket ONLY.   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. 

PROMOTIONS — On Thursday, there will be a Thanksgiving Classic Tailgate outside Firestone Fieldhouse for Pepperdine students.  Those in attendance will be able to participate in a cornhole tournament, Greek Life pie eating contest and receive free pumpkin spiced lattes.  There will also be a canned food drive and all in attendance are encouraged to bring a canned food item to donate.

Saturday will serve as the Waves' Senior Day and Kayleigh Hames, Riley Patterson and Isabel Zelaya will be honored prior to first serve. 

GEAR HERE! — The Pepperdine Bookstore, the official bookstore of Pepperdine Athletics, will also be present in the lobby before, during and after the matches against BYU and San Diego.  The bookstore will provide a variety of apparel options for purchase, as well as many other trinkets and exciting gets.

NCAA SELECTION SHOW — After the regular season is complete, there will be a slight break for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Following, the NCAA Selection Show will take place on Sunday, November 27 at 4:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

WEEKLY NODS — Five weeks this season, the Waves have tabbed a West Coast Conference player of the week nod.  Riley Patterson has received the defensive honor on three occasions, while Grace Chillingworth has garnered the offensive recognition twice.  The Waves had also swept the accolades on week two this season.

2022 weekly honors: Grace Chillingworth, offensive (9/5); Riley Patterson, defensive (9/5); Meg Brown, offensive (9/12); Riley Patterson (9/20); Grace Chillingworth, offensive (10/3), Riley Patterson (11/7).

MORE THAN AN ATHLETE — The Waves have made it a principal standard this season to make mental health a priority among the team.  The white jerseys this year sport a green ribbon which denotes support of mental health awareness.  Throughout a majority of the games as well, many players will wear green hair ties and bracelets, and even paint their nails, all in support of the mental health awareness initiative and erasing the stigma.  The team also has two shirts that sport the phrases 'More Than an Athlete' and 'Be Kind to Your Mind.' 

A focus for the team is to live an honest and healthy lifestyle with each other.  To practice, the team will have at least one weekly meeting and check-in with the team and coaches where the floor is open.  From those check-ins, the team knows who needs to be lifted up throughout the week, who needs to be checked in on and the reasons as to why.  Pepperdine women's volleyball is continuing to attempt to erase the stigma surrounding mental health in athletes.

HEAVY HITTERS, ALL OF 'EM — In five of the first six matches of the season, the Waves had a different kill leader, showing a strong offensive offering for the season. The story has stayed the same throughout the rest of the season as well.  In the 26 matches Pepperdine has played, Meg Brown has led the Waves' attack effort, or tied the match kill-high, on eight separate occasions.  Grace Chillingworth and Emily Hellmuth have led or tied seven times, Rachel Ahrens had led in four matches, Avery Shimaitis has accomplished the feat in two matches and each Vanessa Polk and Emma Ammerman have led or tied once.

SQUAD GOALS — Pepperdine has gone 18-8 overall this season, going 9-6 against West Coast Conference teams.  As a team, the Waves produce 13.37 kills/set on a .231 success rate, while also adding 12.49 assists, 1.43 aces, 14.52 digs and 2.45 blocks per set.  The squad allows opponents 11.92 kills/set on a .180 clip, along with 11.08 assists, 1.33 aces, 13.63 digs and 2.23 blocks per set.

Three players average more than 2.75 kills/set each match: Emily Hellmuth (2.86), Grace Chillingworth (2.81) and Meg Brown (2.78).  Brown leads the team with 273 total kills on an impressive .359 hitting percentage.  She also adds 0.29 aces and 0.93 blocks per set.  Chillingworth leads the team with 36 total aces, marking 0.37 aces/set, while adding 2.36 digs/set.  Vanessa Polk has a team-best 1.26 blocks/set after leading the team with 107 total blocks including 18 solo rejections. 

Isabel Zelaya serves as the primary playmaker with 10.14 assists/set and 973 total assists this season.  She adds 2.03 digs/set as well. Riley Patterson holds down the back row with 4.07 digs/set after having marked 395 digs so far this season.  Kayleigh Hames and Trinity Stanger also help the cause with 2.24 and 1.87 digs/set.

PCH CUP RIVALS IN MALIBU — Last week, the Waves faced a tough LMU team, falling in four sets to the PCH Cup rival at home.  After winning the first set 25-18, Pepperdine was downed 25-20, 25-17, 25-16 in the following three sets to complete the match.  The Waves posted 48 kills on a .171 success rate, while the Lions marked 46 kills on a .262 clip.  LMU also led with 14.0 blocks, nine aces and 43 digs, while Pepperdine amassed 9.0 blocks, seven aces and 40 digs. 

Emily Hellmuth, Grace Chillingworth and Emma Ammerman hit for double figures for the squad with 16, 12 and 10 kills respectively.  Hellmuth added four blocks including two solo rejections, Chillingworth produced two aces in addition to her kill effort and Ammerman led with a .316 hitting percentage.  Isabel Zelaya tabbed a double-double with 32 assists and a team-best 11 digs.  Meg Brown also impressed at the service line with a career-high five aces.

THE COMPETITION — BYU leads the Waves 32-8 all-time, dating back to 1976 when the Cougars won 2-0 on a neutral court. In recent years, BYU had won 16-straight from 2012 to 2020 before Pepperdine broke the streak with a straight-set sweep of the Cougars. Last season, BYU won both. This season, the Cougars have gone 19-5 overall, falling to then-ranked #4 San Diego, #5 Georgia Tech, #8 Ohio State, #10 Pitt and unranked Pacific.  Last week, BYU defeated Pacific after the Tigers forfeited the match and Saint Mary's with a sweep.  Earlier this season, the Cougars defeated the Waves in four on the road.

Pepperdine holds a 44-35 all-time record against San Diego, dating back to 1979 when the Waves won in straight sets. Pepperdine won the first 20-straight matches, including 18 of those in straight-sets. Last season, the two teams split, playing both matches to five sets and each team winning on the road. This season, the Toreros have gone 24-1 overall and are currently ranked #2 nationally.  USD has collected wins over #6 Pitt, #8 Ohio State and #17 BYU and has only lost to #3 Louisville. Last week, the Toreros swept Saint Mary's and Pacific at home.  Earlier this season, San Diego defeated Pepperdine in four.

Portland has gone 10-16 overall this season and 3-12 against West Coast Conference opponents. The Pilots three wins came against Pacific (3-2), Gonzaga (3-1) and San Francisco, while Portland went 1-1 last week with the four-set win over the Dons and the five-set loss to Santa Clara.  All-time, Pepperdine leads 65-6 over Portland, dating back to the first-ever matchup in 1987 when the Waves won in straight sets.  Pepperdine won 41-straight matches including 28 sweeps from 1995-2015, while the matches in this time period only went to five sets on four occasions. Most recently, the Waves have won 10-consecutive matches since 2017 with seven won by way of sweep.  Earlier this season, Pepperdine swept past Portland on the road.