MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team enters the final road week of the regular season, trekking up the coast to go head-to-head against Saint Mary's and Pacific.
 
MATCH #24 — Thursday (November 3) at UCU Pavilion in Moraga, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's at 7 p.m.  | Watch: WCC Network
 
MATCH #25 — Saturday (November 5) at Alex G. Spanos Center in Stockton, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. Pacific at 12 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 match will have live stats and streams available with links to be found on PepperdineWaves.com. All matches will air on the WCC Network.
 
UP NEXT — The final four matches of the season will be played at home in Firestone Fieldhouse, beginning with a PCH Cup rivalry match against LMU on November 11.  The following week, the Waves will host #18 BYU and #2 San Diego on November 17 and 19, with the Saturday matchup against the Toreros serving as Senior Day.  The final match of the 2022 regular season will be against Portland on November 22.
 
WEEKLY NODS — Four weeks this season, the Waves have tabbed a West Coast Conference player of the week nod.  Riley Patterson has received the defensive honor and Grace Chillingworth has garnered the offensive recognition twice, while the Waves 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).
 
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.  Throughout the 23 matches Pepperdine has played, Meg Brown has led the Waves' attack effort, or tied the match kill-high, on eight separate occasions.  Emily Hellmuth has led the squad in six matches, while Grace Chillingworth has led or tied five times, Rachel Ahrens had led in four matches, Avery Shimaitis has accomplished the feat in two matches and Vanessa Polk has led once.
 
SQUAD GOALS — Pepperdine has gone 16-7 overall this season, opening West Coast Conference with a 7-5 output.  As a team, the Waves produce 13.39 kills/set on a .231 success rate, while also adding 12.54 assists, 1.43 aces, 14.45 digs and 2.41 blocks per set.  The squad allows opponents 11.99 kills/set on a .184 clip, along with 11.20 assists, 1.26 aces, 13.52 digs and 2.21 blocks per set.
 
Three players average more than 2.5 kills/set each match: Emily Hellmuth (2.90), Meg Brown (2.84) and Grace Chillingworth (2.64).  Brown leads the team with 247 total kills on an impressive .360 hitting percentage.  She also adds 0.26 aces and 0.90 blocks per set.  Chillingworth leads the team with 32 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 98 total blocks including 16 solo rejections. 
 
Isabel Zelaya serves as the primary playmaker with 10.20 assists/set and 877 total assists this season.  She adds 1.95 digs/set as well. Riley Patterson holds down the back row with 4.03 digs/set after having marked 351 digs so far this season.  Kayleigh Hames and Trinity Stanger also help the cause with 2.30 and 1.72 digs/set.
 
LAST WEEK IN MALIBU — Pepperdine split the week in Malibu last week, sweeping past Santa Clara before falling in five to San Francisco.  In the opener, the Waves amassed 25-16, 25-13 and 25-20 set wins, posting 51 kills on a .316 clip, while allowing 30 kills on a .157 output to the Broncos.  Pepperdine also led with seven aces, 47 digs and 7.0 blocks, while the opposition was good for two aces, 6.0 blocks and 42 digs.  Vanessa Polk had a career night with a career-best 12 kills and .647 hitting percentage to lead the Waves, also marking a team-high six blocks.  Emily Hellmuth and Meg Brown helped the cause with 11 and 10 kills respectively, while Isabel Zelaya had an all-around match with 37 assists, three aces, eight digs and three kills.  Riley Patterson produced a team-best 11 digs.
 
In the following match against the Dons, the Waves won the first two sets 25-19, 25-12, but fell 25-22, 25-15 and 15-11 to lose the battle.  Pepperdine picked up 58 kills on a .188, adding 12.0 team blocks, nine aces, and 73 digs.  San Francisco was good for 57 kills on a .197 clip, with 18.5 blocks, three aces and 72 digs.  Hellmuth led the Waves with 17 kills, while Grace Chillingworth marked a double-double after posting 15 kills on a .351, with 13 digs, three blocks and two aces.  Brown also produced 12 kills, while Zelaya had a team-best 45 assists and added five blocks.  Polk put in eight blocks to lead, while Patterson also had a team-best 19 digs throughout.
 
THE COMPETITION — SMC has gone 7-12 overall and 4-7 in the league this season.  Last week, the Gaels lost to Pacific and San Francisco and swept Santa Clara.  All-time, the Waves lead SMC 55-16, dating back to the first Waves' win - a sweep on the road in 1987.  From 1987-2003, Pepperdine went 33-1 against Saint Mary's.  The longest Gaels' streak was five matches from 2008-10.   Pepperdine is currently on a six-match winning streak since 2019, with three of those wins being in straight sets.
 
This season, the Tigers have gone 13-10 overall and 5-6 in the league, having most recently defeated Santa Clara and Saint Mary's and lost to San Francisco.  All-time, the Waves lead 23-16 against Pacific, dating back to 1977 when Pepperdine took home a 2-0 win on a neutral court.  In recent years, Pepperdine has gone 6-1 against Pacific since 2019.