MALIBU, Calif. — The #5 Pepperdine men's volleyball team continues with non-conference action this week, hosting a three-match homestand featuring The Master's, Emmanuel (Ga.) and Princeton.
 
MATCH #2 — Friday (January 13) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, California: #5 Pepperdine (1-0) vs. The Master's (0-0) at 6 p.m.
 
MATCH #3 — Saturday (January 14) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, California: #5 Pepperdine (1-0) vs. Emmanuel (Ga.) (1-0) at 6 p.m.
 
MATCH #4 — Monday (January 16) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, California: #5 Pepperdine (1-0) vs. (RV) Princeton (1-1) at 7 p.m.
 
WATCH/ONLINE — All home matches will be streamed via WaveCasts on the WCC Network. Links to broadcasts and live stats can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.
 
FOLLOW — Follow the Waves on Facebook and Twitter,
@PeppVolleyball, and follow the team on Instagram, @peppmvb.  Get all the most recent schedules, results and more on www.PepperdineWaves.com.
 
UP NEXT — Next week, the Waves will travel to Austin, Texas for the First Point Collegiate Challenge.  While there, Pepperdine will go head-to-head against #4 Penn State and #15 Lewis on January 20 and 21 respectively.
 
SCHEDULE CHANGE — Though Pepperdine was originally scheduled to play Edward Waters on Friday, issues within the opposition's program resulted in the cancellation of that match.  The Waves will now face The Master's at 6 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse on Friday.
 
TICKETS & SPECTATOR GUIDELINES — Tickets to all Pepperdine home men's volleyball matches in 2023 will be available via e-ticket ONLY and all fans are encouraged to purchase those e-tickets prior to arriving on campus for the match.  Pepperdine faculty, staff and students must show Pepperdine ID card for entry — no ticket purchase is required.
 
To purchase e-tickets and read the spectator guidelines, visit: www.PepperdineWaves.com/Tickets. Due to campus construction, nearby parking is limited and guests are advised to arrive early.  Each match costs $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (65+) and $5 for children and non-Pepperdine students. 
 
LAST WEEK — The Waves dominated Lincoln Memorial last week in Firestone Fieldhouse, sweeping past the Splitters with 25-18, 25-22 and 25-20 set scores.  As a team, Pepperdine posted 38 kills on a .247 clip, adding seven aces, 38 digs and 7.0 team blocks.  The opposition led in blocks with 10.0, but that would be it, as the squad only produced 31 kills on a .195 output, with three aces and 30 digs to challenge the home team. 

Jaylen Jasper impressed with a career-high five aces at the service line, while marking 21 kills on a .486 success rate.  It was the fifth match of his career that Jasper marked over 20 kills and the 15th time in two seasons that he's led the Waves' attack efforts.
 
Bryce Dvorak also produced a solid effort for the home team, leading playmaking efforts with 35 assists, while adding eight digs, three blocks and an ace.  Trey Cole had a team-high 11 digs, while Akin Akinwumi posted five blocks.
 
JINKIES! JAYLEN JASPER IN THE RANKINGS — Graduate opposite Jaylen Jasper had a tremendous opening weekend against LMU.  As a result, he ranks atop the national and MPSF statistics in four separate categories: aces (1.67), attacks (12.33), kills (7.00) and points (9.00).  He also ranks third nationally and 1st in the league in hitting % (0.486). 
 
Additionally, Trey Cole ranks first nationally in digs (3.67), Bryce Dvorak ranks second nationally and 1st in the league in assists (11.67) and Akin Akinwumi ranks third nationally and first in the MPSF in blocks (1.67).
 
OPPONENTS — This is the first meeting between Pepperdine and The Master's and Emmanuel (Ga.).  TMU's season begins on January 27.  The Lions have played one match this season so far, defeating Tusculum in four sets at home.  The squad will also face off against UC Irvine on Friday prior to making the trip to Malibu.
 
Pepperdine and Princeton have faced eight times since 1991, with the Waves earning all eight wins on either home or neutral courts.  Pepperdine won in four sets in the first-ever matchup in Firestone and since have collected five sweeps as well.  The Tigers have taken the Waves to five sets on one occasion, in a neutral-site match in 2019, but Pepperdine was able to prevail with the victory.
 
This season, Princeton has gone 1-1 overall, defeating D'Youville in straight sets before falling to Daemen on opening weekend in four sets.  On Saturday, the Tigers will also face off against #2 UCLA in Los Angeles prior to making the trip to Malibu.
 
RANKINGS — After the first week of competition, Pepperdine remained at the #5 spot in the AVCA national rankings.  The Waves opened the 2023 season at #5 in the AVCA national rankings as well. 
 
Pepperdine, along with Long Beach State and UCLA, are the only three schools to have been ranked in the top-15 of every single national poll since the polls began in 1986.  Hawai'i is the next closest, having been ranked 554 total times.  Pepperdine is second on the list for school ranked most in the top-five with 358 top-five rankings, while UCLA tops the list with 394 top-five rankings.
 
MPSF — The Waves were picked to finish second in the MPSF this season in a preseason vote of the league's coaches.  The Waves garnered one of the seven first-place votes.  UCLA was slated to finish on top with five first-place votes, while Stanford was projected to finish third with one first-place vote as well.  Grand Canyon and USC tied for fourth, while BYU and Concordia round out the final rankings.
 
ROSTER NUMBERS — The Waves have a solid presence of returning starters and key players from last season's squad.  10 of the 17 players who saw action last season are back, including four starters and a libero.  The roster consists of one graduate student and one senior, three true juniors and two redshirt-juniors, three redshirt-sophomores and six redshirt-freshman and five true freshmen.  The Waves bring back over half of last year's total kill totals, including the two leading attackers - AVCA All-American Jaylen Jasper (3.57 kills) and Jacob Steele (2.51 kills).  Bryce Dvorak, an AVCA All-American second teamer and 2021 AVCA Newcomer of the Year, also returns as the primary playmaker for the squad.
 
2022 SEASON — Pepperdine concluded the 2022 campaign ranked #5 in the country.  The Waves went 19-10 overall, finished third in the MPSF regular season, was the MPSF Tournament Champion and competed in the opening rounds of the NCAA Championships.  Pepperdine is seeking a fifth-straight appearance at the national tournament.  The Waves made the semifinals in 2019 and opening rounds in 2021 and 2022, while the 2020 postseason was canceled at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
WINDER AT THE HELM — Pepperdine all-time great Jonathan Winder - an NCAA champion and former national player of the year - will stand at the helm of the Waves in 2023.  He is the ninth head coach in the storied history of the Waves' men's volleyball program.  He most recently had served as the head coach of the Fresno Stat4e women's indoor volleyball program for the previous four seasons.  He had also spent time as an assistant coach for the Washington women's volleyball team, helping lead the Huskies to a 105-21 record in three seasons, back-to-back Pac-12 championships and consecutive Elite Eight appearances in 2015 and 2016.  Winder spent the 2014 season in Malibu as an assistant for the Pepperdine after playing professionally in France, Germany, Greece and Romania and spending 2007-12 as a member of the U.S. National Team.
 
COACHES — Returning for his fourth season as an assistant coach, Matthew Pollock will rejoin the sidelines for the Waves.  With Pollock on the staff, the Waves advanced to the NCAA Tournament and finished with a #5 ranking in both 2021 and 2022.  Pollock played for the Waves from 2009-12 and was a starter middle blocker in his final two seasons, earning All-MPSF honors as a senior.  He played professionally in Finland, Switzerland, Portugal, Italy and Germany.  Hardy Wooldridge also joined the staff as an assistant in December, 2022.  He was most recently the associate head coach of the Fresno State women's indoor program alongside Winder.  The pair also coached together at Washington.  Victoria Dennis serves as director of operations and Marv Dunphy continues to play a role as head coach emeritus.
 
PEPPERDINE VOLLEYBALL — Pepperdine has won five NCAA men's volleyball championships, second only to UCLA. Coaching legend Marv Dunphy stepped down after the 2017 season. He won four of the NCAA titles, plus 612 matches over his 34 years with the Waves. Pepperdine has won 17 regular-season or tournament conference titles. The Waves have finished in the top six in the final AVCA poll in 20 of the last 26 seasons, and in the top 10 in 25 of the last 26 years. Eleven different Waves have competed at the Olympics and were part of the U.S. gold-medal winning teams in 1984, 1988 and 2008.
 
COMPETING WITH PURPOSE — The Pepperdine University Department of Athletics is committed to Christian values, to the academic well-being of all our student-athletes and to competing for championships. The Competing with Purpose campaign highlights the commitment to our core values. Learn more about our exceptional student-athletes at www.PepperdineWaves.com.
 
ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY — Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports — one of just 18 schools to have accomplished this feat — and 10 overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 26 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, California, the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #49 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.