Pepperdine University
South Carolina
#15 Beach Volleyball to Compete in Gamecock Grand Slam
3/10/2022 10:18:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. – The #15 Pepperdine beach volleyball team returns to the road this week, trekking cross-country for the Gamecock Grand Slam, hosted by #19 South Carolina on Friday and Saturday. The Waves will open the tournament against the Gamecocks, while also taking on ULM, #5 LSU and Mercer throughout the weekend of duals.
DUAL 6: Friday (March 11) at Wheeler Beach in Columbia, S.C.: #15 Pepperdine (5-0) at #19 South Carolina (4-4) at 8 a.m. PT.
DUAL 7: Friday (March 11) at Wheeler Beach in Columbia, S.C.: #15 Pepperdine (5-0) vs. ULM (3-4) at 12 p.m. PT.
DUAL 8: Saturday (March 12) at Wheeler Beach in Columbia, S.C.: #15 Pepperdine (5-0) vs. #5 LSU (9-0) at 6 a.m. PT.
DUAL 9: Saturday (March 12) at Wheeler Beach in Columbia, S.C.: #15 Pepperdine (5-0) vs. Mercer (2-9) at 12 p.m. PT.
COVERAGE: Each of the four duals this weekend will have live scoring available with links available on the website: https://gowav.es/3t20KJW. Updates made available can be found on Twitter @WavesBeachVB. Additionally, go to PepperdineWaves.com for recaps, results, updates and more.
LOOKING AHEAD: After three weeks on the road, the Waves will return home next week, hosting Southern Mississippi and Long Beach State for the Malibu Invite at the Pepperdine Beach Volleyball Courts on March 17. Pepperdine will then host another set of duals against Concordia and CSU Bakersfield on March 19 in Malibu before hitting the road once again.
WAVES WEATHER: The weather in Columbia on Friday calls for cloudy in the morning with off and on rain showers during the afternoon hours.  It will be a high of 63º with light winds and a 50% chance of rain. On Saturday, there will be thunderstorms in the morning and then it will be partly cloudy and windy late in the afternoon. It will be a high of 63º with temps falling to near 45º in the morning, with winds blowing 20-30 miles per hour and an 80% chance of rain.Â
SURF REPORT: The Waves have gone 5-0 to open the 2022 campaign, including three sweeps thus far, with two wins on the road and three victories on neutral sand. Two pairings have remained undefeated at this point in the season, with Simone Priebe and McKenna Thomas going 5-0 in the No. 2 position and Jordan Benoit and Kate Clermont sporting the same record in the No. 5 position, giving both pairings a five-match winning streak.
In the No. 1 position, Melanie Paul and Madison Shields have marked a 4-1 record. Juju Quintero and Mary Sinclair, as well as Cameron Baklenko and Rio Frohoff, have also compiled 4-1 outputs this season and are currently working with two-match winning streaks as well. Quintero and Sinclair have marked a 2-1 record in the No. 3 position and a 2-0 output in the No. 4 spot, while Baklenko and Frohoff have gone 2-1 in the No. 4 position and 2-1 in the No. 3 position.Â
Additionally, Savana Greene and Peyton Lewis have gone 5-0 in the exhibition position. Last week, Gracie Pedersen and Kristine Briede also played an additional exhibition match, collecting a two-set victory in the process.
OPPONENT NOTES: #19 South Carolina has posted a 4-4 record so far this season, dropping matches to #3 Florida State, #5 TCU, #19 Georgia State and #19 Stetson, while defeating #20 Florida Gulf Coast and other unranked teams. All-time, the Waves have marked a 3-0 record against the Gamecocks, including two on the road and one at home.Â
ULM has marked a 3-4 output so far this season, most recently defeating Nicholls and falling to Houston Baptist and Stephen F. Austin. The Waves and Warhawks have faced once previously in 2014, with Pepperdine taking the 5-0 victory at Zuma Beach.
#5 LSU has gone 9-0 this season so far, with wins of #4 LMU and #17 Georgia State, along with other unranked teams. Last week, the Tigers took down LMU 3-2 in Baton Rouge, while also defeating Stephen F. Austin, Southern Miss, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Pepperdine holds a 4-2 all-time record against LSU, dating back to 2018 when the Waves won four against the Lions. In 2019, LSU won both neutral site matches, including one in the NCAA tournament over Pepperdine.
Mercer has marked a 2-9 output this season thus far, falling to South Carolina and Georgia State among others, while defeating Jacksonville and Tusculum. All-time, the Waves have gone 2-0 against with 5-0 sweeps on neutral sand in both 2012 and 2016.
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.
