MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team, a team receiving votes in the AVCA coaches poll this week, will host a pair of West Coast Conference opponents this week in Firestone.

MATCH #21 — Thursday (November 4) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (14-6, 10-0 WCC) vs. Gonzaga (3-18, 0-10 WCC) at 7 p.m. | ESPN+ ($)

MATCH #22 — Saturday (November 6) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (14-6, 10-0 WCC) vs. Portland (8-15, 3-8 WCC) at 12 p.m. | ESPN+ ($)

UP NEXT — Next week, the Waves will split home and away, trekking to Santa Clara on November 9 before returning to Malibu to face San Diego for Senior Day on November 11.

SOCIAL MEDIA — Follow @WavesVolleyball on Twitter for updates and check out PepperdineWaves.com and Facebook (/WavesVolleyball) for releases and more information.  Find the Waves on Instagram @peppvolley.

PROMOTIONS — Thursday's match will be the Waves' Mental Health Awareness match.  The department's mental health specialists will be tabling in the lobby and the team will don green warm up shirts, hair ties and more in support of stopping the stigma.  Saturday's match will feature all the Taylor Swift content you can handle, as the artist and her work are the theme for that day.

Additionally, on Monday, November 6, the Pepperdine men's basketball team's home opener will serve as a fundraiser for the memorial fund honoring the memory of Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams that will support their families, friends and the broader Pepperdine community.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse as the Waves take on Concordia Irvine.  All ticket sales will benefit the memorial fund.  Those interested in buying tickets should go to tickets.pepperdinewaves.com.

TICKETS & SPECTATOR GUIDELINES — Tickets to all Pepperdine home women's volleyball matches in 2023 will be available via e-ticket only at tickets.pepperdinewaves.com.  Pepperdine faculty, staff and students must show Pepperdine ID card for entry — no ticket purchase is required.

Due to campus construction, nearby parking is limited and guests are advised to arrive early.  Each match costs $13 for adults, $8 for seniors (65+) and $5 for children and non-Pepperdine students. 

ESPN+ — This week, the matches will stream live on ESPN+.  Throughout the season, all of Pepperdine's home matches will be available on ESPN+.  The West Coast Conference and ESPN have expanded their longstanding media rights relationship. In addition to showcasing more than 25 games on ESPN's linear networks, ESPN+ will serve as the new, exclusive digital home for more than 900 conference events each year. 

ADDITIONAL COVERAGE — Live stats for all matches will be available with links found on PepperdineWaves.com. 

THE STREAK — After a 1-6 start to the 2023 campaign, the Waves have rallied tough, winning the team's last 13-consecutive matches including 10 in straight sets.  The 13 wins in a row matches the fourth-best streak in Pepperdine program history and it's the eighth time ever the Waves have accomplished the feat. 

The current streak is the longest since the Waves won 13-straight in 2011 to open WCC play off.  In addition to that year, Pepperdine also had 13-match winning streaks in 2008, 2001 and 1997.  The team won 15-straight matches in 1991, 17-straight in 2002 and a program-best 25-consecutive matches in 2003.

This season, Pepperdine had a set winning streak of 17-straight from September 23-October 19.  The Waves have only dropped three sets in the 10 WCC matches they have played this season.  The last time the team dropped a match against any opponent was on September 8. 

WEEKLY HONORS — Junior Grace Chillingworth has earned the West Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Week accolade twice this season, on back-to-back weeks on Oct. 16 and Oct. 23.  With the pair of nods this season, she has garnered four career honors of its kind.

SQUAD GOALS — Pepperdine has gone 14-6 overall this season and remains perfect against West Coast Conference opponents with a 10-0 record.  The Waves have won the last 13-straight matches, which is the eighth-longest winning streak in program history.  As a team, Pepperdine averages 13.06 kills/set on a .257 clip, while adding 12.15 assists, 1.53 aces, 14.15 digs and 2.17 blocks per set.  On average, the Waves allow 12.56 kills/set on a .196 output, along with 11.71 assists, 1.19 aces, 13.82 digs and 1.96 blocks per set. 

Grace Chillingworth, Birdie Hendrickson and Meg Brown lead the attack efforts for Pepperdine, having amassed 3.78, 2.82 and 2.39 kills/set respectively.  Chillingworth, Hendrickson and Riley Patterson lead the squad at the service line, having marked 20 aces apiece to average 0.29, 0.31 and 0.29 aces/set respectively.  Patterson also leads the effort on the back line, having amassed 3.63 digs/set this season after leading the team with 247 total digs.  Hendrickson, Chillingworth and Isabel Zelaya also produce 2.52, 2.13 and 2.03 digs/set respectively as well.  Zelaya is the primary playmaker for the squad with 682 total assists and 10.18 assists/set.  Lastly at the net, Brown and Vanessa Polk lead the efforts with 0.98 and 0.94 blocks/set respectively.  Polk leads the team with 62 total blocks, including 11 solo rejections, while Brown has posted 56 total blocks with seven solos.

LAST WEEK — Last week, Pepperdine faced off against Saint Mary's in the sole match of the week in Firestone.  The Waves dominated 25-14, 25-20, 25-17 for the team's 13th-straight win after posting 48 kills on a .333 clip with 11 aces, 39 digs and 8.0 team blocks.  The team allowed the opposition 27 kills on a .132 output, with one ace, 30 digs and 8.0 blocks.  Grace Chillingworth and Emily Hellmuth led the attack with 16 kills on a .324 clip and 10 kills on a .318 success rate respectively.  Five players each had two or more aces throughout the match as well, led by Birdie Hendrickson who amassed three aces, as well as Chillingworth, Brynne McGhie, Riley Patterson and Laine Briggs.  Hendrickson also led with nine digs, while Isabel Zelaya posted a team-best 39 assists.  Vanessa Polk produced a team-high five blocks including one solo rejection.

THE COMPETITION — The Zags have gone 3-18 overall and 0-10 in WCC action this season thus far, including a pair of losses to Santa Clara and San Francisco last week.  The team is on a 13-match losing streak currently.  Pepperdine leads Gonzaga all-time 64-9, dating back to 1987 when the Waves won in straight sets on the road.  The longest Pepperdine winning streak came from 1997-2013 with 34 games.  Last season, the Waves split with the Zags, winning at home via sweep and then dropping a five-setter on the road.  Earlier this season, Pepperdine swept Gonzaga in Spokane.

Portland has gone 8-15 overall and 3-8 in the league so far this season.  Last week, the Pilots had a pair of five set bouts, falling to Santa Clara and besting San Francisco at home.  The Waves lead the Pilots 67-6 all-time, dating back to 1987 when the Waves won in straight sets.  The longest Pepperdine winning streak occurred from 1995-2015 with 41-consecutive wins.  Last season, the Waves took both matches in straight sets, and earlier this season, the squad won again in three on the road.

4,000 ASSIST CLUB — Graduate student setter Isabel Zelaya entered the exclusive 4,000 assist club during the first week of the season.  She entered the 2023 campaign with 3,995 assists and after the 20 matches now sits at 4,676 assists.  That mark puts her second in the Pepperdine women's volleyball record books, the fifth Wave all-time to have surpassed the 4,000-assist mark and the first since 2009.  Becci Roehl (1994-97) leads the category with 5,020 assists all-time.  This season, Zelaya has passed Kiah Fiers (2006-09) with 4,410 assists and Melissa Mehlhorn (2002-05) with 4,387 career assists.