MALIBU, Calif. – The #16 Pepperdine beach volleyball team has two duals on the docket this week, first traveling to #14 Long Beach State on Thursday before returning to Malibu for Senior Day against CSUN on Saturday. Rio Frohoff, Savana Greene, Peyton Lewis, Melanie Paul, Simone Priebe, Madison Shields and Mary Sinclair will be honored prior to the match.
DUAL 24: Thursday (April 7) at LBSU Sand Courts in Long Beach, Calif.: #16 Pepperdine (16-7) at #14 Long Beach State (12-10) at 1 p.m.
DUAL 25: Saturday (April 9) at Pepperdine Beach Volleyball Courts in Malibu, Calif.: #16 Pepperdine (16-7) vs. CSUN (15-13) at 11 a.m. | SENIOR DAY
COVERAGE: There will be live scoring for both matches this week. Those links can be found on the Pepperdine beach volleyball schedule page. All home duals this season will have live scoring available and links can be found on the website, here: https://gowav.es/3t20KJW. Additionally, go to www.PepperdineWaves.com for recaps, results, updates and more.
WAVES WEATHER: Long Beach tomorrow has a high of 95º with sunny skies, nearing record high temperatures for this date. Winds will run north and shift to west in the afternoon at 10 to 15 miles per hour. Saturday in Malibu will yield a high of 70º with partly cloudy skies and winds running west at five to 10 miles per hour.
SURF REPORT: Pepperdine has gone 16-7 overall this season, with a 4-0 record at home and a 3-2 record on the road. The Waves are coming off a solid week on the road, having bested #4 Florida State and North Florida, a team receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll, 3-2. Collectively, Pepperdine pairs have gone 77-38 this season for a .670 success rate.
Melanie Paul and Madison Shields have led the top position throughout the season, collecting an 18-5 overall record, going 7-3 in their last 10 matches and currently working with a four-match winning streak. The duo has also clinched the overall dual for the Waves in five separate competitions, including last week's 3-2 win over Florida State.
Simone Priebe and McKenna Thomas have been a solid partnership for the Waves this season, leading the squad with a 19-4 pairs record with a .826 winning percentage. The duo has gone 8-2 in their last 10 matches, and though primarily playing in the first flight, have clinched the dual twice for their team.
There have been various partnerships in the No. 3, 4 and 5 positions as well. Most recently, Peyton Lewis and Juju Quintero have played in the No. 3 position and have gone 6-10 overall with three wins in each the No. 3 slot and the No. 4 slot.
Mary Sinclair and Kate Clermont have gone 7-6 overall, with a 3-2 record in the No. 3 position and a 4-3 record in the No. 4 position. Savana Greene and Cameron Baklenko have played one official match and two exhibition matches together, going 2-1 overall with a 2-0 win in the No. 5 position against #10 FAU last weekend.
SENIORS: Seven Waves will be honored prior to the dual beginning at 11 a.m., Rio Frohoff, Savana Greene, Peyton Lewis, Melanie Paul, Simone Priebe, Madison Shields and Mary Sinclair. Collectively throughout their careers, these players have propelled the program to 52 wins, along with an impressive 22-7 record when playing at home the past four years. They have helped lead the program to two WCC Championship final appearances and one berth in the NCAA Championship tournament.
OPPONENT NOTES: Long Beach State is currently ranked #14 in the AVCA Coaches Poll and has gone 12-10 this season thus far, though the team has played numerous ranked opponents this season. Most recently, LBSU has collected wins against #8 Stanford and #12 Cal Poly, while dropping to #9 Hawai'i and #13 Cal. Earlier this season, the Waves won a dual at home against Beach with a 3-2 result. All-time, the Waves lead LBSU 24-3, dating back to 2012.
CSUN has gone 15-13 overall this season and most recently won against Life Pacific, Marymount California and Saint Katherine. All-time, Pepperdine leads the Matadors 3-0, with 5-0 wins in 2014 and 2017 and a 4-1 win in 2019.
LOOKING AHEAD: Next week, the Waves will travel to Forth Worth, Texas for the TCU Tournament. The squad will play Houston Baptist and Missouri State on day one, before going head-to-head with #9 Stanford and tournament-host #2 TCU on Saturday.
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.
