MALIBU, Calif. — The #5 Pepperdine men's volleyball team will begin the 2023 campaign at home, as the Waves welcome Lincoln Memorial to Firestone Fieldhouse on Wednesday.
 
MATCH #1 — Wednesday (January 4) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, California: #5 Pepperdine (0-0) vs. Lincoln Memorial (0-0) 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.
 
UP NEXT — Next week, the Waves continue the homestand with Edward Waters (Jan. 13), Emmanuel (Ga.) (Jan. 14) and Princeton (Jan. 16), before traveling to Austin, Texas to compete at the First Point Collegiate Challenge against Penn State (Jan. 20) and Lewis (Jan. 21).
 
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. 
 
OPPONENTS — This will be the first-ever meeting between Pepperdine and Lincoln Memorial.  Last season, the Railspitters went 20-7.  After playing in Malibu for the season opener, LMU will also trek to play UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara and CSUN the following three days.
 
RANKINGS — Pepperdine opens the 2023 season at #5 in the AVCA national rankings.  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.

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.