Pepperdine University
Southern Mississippi
#18 Waves Face Six Opponents this Week, Four at Home
3/16/2022 4:46:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. – The #18 Pepperdine beach volleyball team will face a slew of opponents this week, including four at the Waves' home venue, the Pepperdine Beach Volleyball Courts. The squad will open home action with a pair of duals on each Thursday and Saturday, before making the short trip up to San Luis Obispo, Calif. for another pair of matches on Sunday.
DUAL 10: Thursday (March 17) at Pepperdine Beach Volleyball Courts in Malibu, Calif.: #18 Pepperdine (7-2) vs. Southern Miss (3-10) at 10 a.m. PT.
DUAL 11: Thursday (March 17) at Pepperdine Beach Volleyball Courts in Malibu, Calif.: #18 Pepperdine (7-2) vs. Long Beach State (1-7) at 12 p.m. PT.
DUAL 12: Saturday (March 19) at Pepperdine Beach Volleyball Courts in Malibu, Calif.: #18 Pepperdine (7-2) vs. Concordia (10-2) at 10 a.m. PT.
DUAL 13: Saturday (March 19) at Pepperdine Beach Volleyball Courts in Malibu, Calif.: #18 Pepperdine (7-2) vs. CSU Bakersfield (6-1) at 12 p.m. PT.
DUAL 14: Sunday (March 20) at Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex in San Luis Obispo, Calif.: #18 Pepperdine (7-2) vs. Cal (8-4) at 5 p.m. PT.
DUAL 15: Sunday (March 20) at Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex in San Luis Obispo, Calif.: .#18 Pepperdine (7-2) vs. Cal Poly (5-7) at 3 p.m. PT.
COVERAGE: All home duals this season will have live scoring available. The matches at Cal Poly will also have live scoring. All links can be found on the website, here: https://gowav.es/3t20KJW. Updates will also be made available and can be found on Twitter @WavesBeachVB. Additionally, go to PepperdineWaves.com for recaps, results, updates and more.
PARKING & SPECTATOR GUIDELINES: Full spectator guidelines are online here: www.PepperdineWaves.com. Beach volleyball duals are free and open to all spectators. Masks and physical distancing are encouraged for all. Bleachered seating is available. Shade is limited around the outdoor venues and umbrellas are permitted so long as they do not impede the other spectators or broadcast equipment. Canopies are reserved for broadcast and operational staff. Spectators may not gather under the canopies. Fans are permited to bring in outside food and non-alcoholic beverages. Â
LOOKING AHEAD: After this busy week, the Waves will trek to Santa Cruz, Calif. to take part in the WCC Invitational to compete with fellow teams in the league, as well as some local teams. Pepperdine will open with pool play on March 25 against San Jose State at 10 a.m. and Saint Mary's at 2 p.m. Bracket playoff-style tournament play will begin on Saturday as well.Â
WAVES WEATHER: On Thursday in Malibu, the weather calls for a high of 69º with mainly sunny skies. Winds will run roughly 10 to 20 miles per hour throughout the day as well. On Saturday at home, it will be a high of 61º with cloudy skies early in the morning, followed by partly cloudy skies in the afternoon. Winds will run 10 to 20 miles per hour as well. Sunday in San Luis Obispo, the Waves and fans can look for a high of 67º with mainly sunny skies, along with 15 to 25 miles per hour winds.
SURF REPORT: Pepperdine has gone 7-2 overall this season, with a 2-1 record on the road and a 5-1 record on neutral sand. The Waves have faced two nationally ranked opponents as well, falling in both to #5 LSU and #19 South Carolina. Pepperdine has swept past Pacific, Vanguard, Cal State LA and ULM earlier this season as well.
Madison Shields and Melanie Paul have been steady in the No. 1 slot for the Waves, having gone 7-2 overall as well. The pair is currently on a three-match winning streak after having defeated pairs from #5 LSU, ULM and Mercer. Shields and Paul have clinched three dual wins for the squad as well this season.
Simone Priebe and McKenna Thomas have played in the No. 2 position for Pepperdine, having gone 7-2 with one clinch overall as well. Jordan Benoit and Kate Clermont also sport a 7-2 record this season, having played in the No. 5 position for the Waves every match.  The pair has collected two clinches as well.
There have been a few variations in the No. 3 and 4 positions this season. Cameron Baklenko and Rio Frohoff have played together in every dual, going 7-2 overall with a 2-0 record in the No. 3 position and a 5-2 record in the No. 4 slot.Â
Juju Quintero and Mary Sinclair have gone 5-2 overall this season, having gone 2-0 in the No. 4 slot and 3-2 in the No. 3 position with one clinch for the Waves. Quintero also played alongside Peyton Lewis in the No. 3 position last weekend.Â
Additionally in the exhibition slot, Lewis and Savana Greene have posted a 6-1 record, while Greene and Sinclair also went 2-0 in the position.
OPPONENT NOTES: Southern Miss has gone 3-10 overall this season, with wins against Texas A&M Kingsville, Houston Baptist and Nicholls. The Golden Eagles have faced three nationally ranked teams this season, falling 5-0 to #6 LSU, #6 TCU and #13 Florida Atlantic. This will be the first meeting between these two teams.
Long Beach State has gone 1-7 overall this season, but has faced a slew of nationally ranked opponents, collecting a 4-1 win over then-ranked #16 Stetson. Beach was swept by then-ranked #1 USC twice, and #2-ranked UCLA once. The squad has also been defeated by #4 LMU, #8 Stanford, #11 Cal Poly and #11 Cal this season. All-time, Pepperdine leads LBSU with a 23-3 record since the 2012 season when the Waves won the first-ever meeting 3-2. Last season, Pepperdine defeated Beach twice, both with 3-2 final marks.
Concordia has posted a 10-2 overall record this season, with a 4-1 loss earlier to Pepperdine, along with a 3-2 loss to CSU Bakersfield. The Eagles have won against various other opponents, including Santa Clara and Vanguard. All-time, the Waves have gone 4-0 against CUI, with the first three wins by way of sweep in 2015 or 2021.Â
CSU Bakersfield has lost only one dual this season, a 3-2 result to the Waves in late February. Since then, the Roadrunners have defeated CSUN twice, Pacific and Concordia. All-time, the Waves have gone 7-0 against CSUB, dating back to the 2014 season when the Waves swept the 'Runners. Pepperdine won the next five-straight by sweep before this season began as well.
Cal has gone 8-4 overall this season, falling to #3 TCU twice, #4 LMU and #9 Hawai'i, while also taking a win against the Rainbow Wahine, as well as #15 Long Beach State and other various unranked programs. All-time, the Waves have gone 1-1 against Cal, with a 4-1 win at home in 2019 and a 4-1 loss on neutral sand in 2021.
Cal Poly has posted a 5-7 overall record this season so far, defeating #14 Long Beach State for the squad's biggest win of the season thus far. Apart from that, the Mustangs have lost to then-ranked #2 UCLA, #3 Florida State, #6 TCU, #7 Grand Canyon and #8 Stanford. All-time, the Waves boast an 8-2 record over Cal Poly, winning the first-ever match in 2016 with a sweep. The last two times the squad's faced, the Mustangs won both 3-2.
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.
