MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team will enter postseason action on Friday, challenging Pac-12 Champion and national #4-seed Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
MATCH #30 — Friday (December 2) at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. #5 Stanford at 7 p.m. | Watch: ESPN+
MATCH #31 — Saturday (December 3) at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. winner of Hawai'i/LSU at 6 p.m. | *Based on a win in the NCAA First Round vs. Stanford
SOCIAL MEDIA — Follow @WavesVolleyball on Twitter for updates and check out PepperdineWaves.com and Facebook (/WavesVolleyball) for releases and more information.
COVERAGE — The Waves first round match against the Cardinal will air live on ESPN+. All matches will have live stats and streams available with links to be found on PepperdineWaves.com.
TICKETS & SPECTATOR GUIDELINES — Tickets on Friday will be good for both matches, beginning with Hawai'i vs. LSU at 4:30 p.m. The price ranges from $10 - $20 per ticket and links are available on www.PepperdineWaves.com.
WCC POSTSEASON ACCLAIM — Six Waves garnered All-West Coast Conference postseason acclaim this season, highlighted by a WCC Freshman of the Year honor for Emily Hellmuth. It is the third-consecutive year that Pepperdine has earned the accolade of its kind as Brown and Chillingworth did so in 2020 and 2021.
Meg Brown and Grace Chillingworth impressed with first team nods, while Riley Patterson and Isabel Zelaya earned second team and honorable mention recognition as well. Hellmuth, along with Vanessa Polk, also tabbed a spot on the All-Freshman squad.
WAVES IN THE SHOW — Pepperdine has advanced to the postseason 30 times in the program's 46-year history, compiling a cumulative record of 41-35 (.539).
The Waves have earned a berth to the NCAA Championships on 26 occasions - 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022 - and have gone 19-25 (.432) overall.
In 2002, Pepperdine advanced to the Elite Eight and reached the regional final once again in 2011. Pepperdine competed at the AIAW Championships in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979 while the 1995 team participated in the 20-team National Invitational Volleyball Championships. Pepperdine finished fourth at the AIAW Championships in 1976 and 1978. Last season, the Waves faced UCF in the opening round played at UCLA, falling in a tough four-set battle.
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 in 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).
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 29 matches Pepperdine has played, Meg Brown has led the Waves' attack effort, or tied the match kill-high, on nine separate occasions. Grace Chillingworth has led or tied nine times, Emily Hellmuth has led or tied eight times, Avery Shimaitis has accomplished the feat in two matches and Vanessa Polk and Emma Ammerman have led or tied once.
SQUAD GOALS — Pepperdine has gone 19-10 overall this season, going 10-8 against West Coast Conference teams. As a team, the Waves produce 13.43 kills/set on a .229 success rate, while also adding 12.55 assists, 1.50 aces, 14.50 digs and 2.36 blocks per set. The squad allows opponents 12.00 kills/set on a .187 clip, along with 11.17 assists, 1.31 aces, 13.51 digs and 2.33 blocks per set.
Three players average more than 2.82 kills/set each match: Emily Hellmuth (2.90), Grace Chillingworth (2.89) and Meg Brown (2.82). Brown leads the team with an impressive .367 hitting percentage after having marked 302 kills with only 78 errors on 611 swings. She also adds 0.29 aces and 0.91 blocks per set. Chillingworth leads the team with 40 total aces, marking 0.37 aces/set, while adding 2.31 digs/set. She also leads the Waves with 309 total kills. Vanessa Polk has a team-best 1.21 blocks/set after leading the team with 115 total blocks including a solid 20 solo rejections.
Isabel Zelaya serves as the primary playmaker with 10.11 assists/set and 1,041 total assists this season. She adds 2.02 digs/set as well. Riley Patterson holds down the back row with 4.14 digs/set after having marked 443 digs so far this season. Kayleigh Hames and Trinity Stanger also helped the cause with 2.21 and 1.83 digs/set.
THE FINAL THREE MATCHES IN MALIBU — The Waves closed out with a tough slate at home, playing then-ranked #17 BYU, #2 San Diego and Portland, finishing with a 1-2 record in Firestone for those three matches. Against the Cougars, the Waves were downed 25-22, 25-21 and 25-22 despite a strong output in the match. The home team led 6-2 in aces, but the opposition was able to post 46 kills on a .372 clip to the Waves' 40 smashes on a .167 success rate to secure the victory. BYU also posted 12.0 team blocks, compared to Pepperdine's 5.0. Grace Chillingworth led the Waves with 10 kills, while she and Emma Ammerman had a team-best three aces as well. Rosemary Archer led in playmaking duties for the match, posting 34 assists with three kills on a .429 output. Riley Patterson had a team-best 12 digs as well.
On Senior Day, Pepperdine faced off against #2 San Diego, taking the first set 25-22 before falling 25-19, 25-20, 25-20 in the following three sets. Each side of the net produced 57 kills, but the Waves .180 was outshined by the Toreros' .307 clip. The opposition also led 17.0 to 3.0 with blocks and by a narrow 7-6 margin at the service line, though the home squad had the 56-49 edge in digs. Chillingworth and Brown led with 15 kills apiece. Brown did so with a solid .583 hitting percentage and three aces as well. Emily Hellmuth also added 14 kills, while Patterson and Kayleigh Hames produced 22 and 10 digs respectively. Isabel Zelaya led as the primary setter for the match, totaling 41 assists.
The final match of the regular season was all Waves, however, as Pepperdine dominated Portland 25-10, 25-16 and 25-22 throughout. The squad led in all categories with 43 kills on a .291 clip, 10 aces, 56 digs and 7.0 team blocks. The Waves kept the Pilots to only 25 kills on a .089 success rate, with two aces and 4.0 team blocks. Hellmuth led the squad with 12 kills, while Chillingworth was close behind with 11 kills on a .346 hitting percentage. Chillingworth also added nine digs and three blocks. Zelaya, Hames and Ammerman each posted three aces, while Zelaya led with 27 assists and added eight digs. Meg Brown had a team-high five blocks and Patterson led once again with 14 digs.
THE COMPETITION — The Cardinal leads the Waves 6-2 all-time, dating back to the 1977 campaign when the opposition won the first-ever matchup 2-1 at a neutral site. Pepperdine countered that year, however, with a pair of wins (2-1, 2-0) on neutral hardwood. Since then, Stanford has had the edge, winning five-straight uncontested from 1982 to 2010. This season, Stanford won the Pac-12 regular season title after going 24-4 overall and 19-1 among league competitors. The only conference loss for the Cardinal this season came in three sets against then-ranked #21 Oregon. Stanford defeated both #2 Nebraska and #3 Minnesota earlier in the season as well, teams the Waves went 1-1 against. The Cardinal is currently on an 18-match winning streak heading into the postseason.
Hawai'i leads Pepperdine with a 31-4 all-time record against, dating back to the 1976 season when the Rainbow Wahine won 2-1 at a neutral site. The Waves took the first win in the 1978 campaign, winning back-to-back 3-2 decisions on the road. The other Pepperdine wins against UH came in 1997 and more recently in 2018, both in five sets. The Waves have yet to win against the Rainbow Wahine at a neutral site, as Hawai'i has posted a perfect 12-0 record against. This season, UH has gone 22-6 overall with a 19-1 record against Big West opponents to win the regular season crown. The team is currently on a 12-match winning streak.
Pepperdine leads LSU with a 2-0 all-time record against, with both matches taking place at a neutral site. The Waves won in four in 1987 and five in 1990. This season, the Tigers have gone 15-13 overall and 9-9 in the SEC, earning an at-large bid into the tournament. The squad enters the tournament on a two-match losing streak after dropping a pair of contests to Georgia in straight sets.
MILESTONES & RECORD WATCH — Isabel Zelaya has been climbing the record books at Pepperdine as well, ranking 6th with 10.43 assists/set and 5th with 3,963 total assists. In the single-season records for the rally scoring era, Zelaya also ranked 10th with 11.19 assist/set and 1,144 total assists as well in 2021.
Fans should also follow along with the defensive stylings of Riley Patterson, who has quickly risen through the ranks in the Pepperdine women's volleyball single-season record books (rally scoring era). Currently, she ranks tied for 7th for most digs in a single season.
At the service line, Grace Chillingworth has also been making an impact to the record books. Her 40 aces so far in 2022 rank tied for 6th in the single-season rankings alongside 2018 graduate and Waves' standout Hannah Frohling. Her current 0.37 aces/set this season also rank tied for 7th with Frohling and Stevi Robinson.
