MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team returns home with a pair of matches to start West Coast Conference action this week.

MATCH #11 — Thursday (September 21) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. Pacific at 7 p.m.

MATCH #12 — Saturday (September 23) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. LMU at 12 p.m.

UP NEXT — Next week, the Waves will split home and away, first heading to Moraga to take on Saint Mary's on September 28 before hosting San Francisco in Malibu on September 30.

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.

ESPN+ — 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.  No stream will be provided.  All links can be found on PepperdineWaves.com. 

PROMOTIONS — All fans are encouraged to wear white for a WHITE OUT to the game on Thursday.  The first 100 students to arrive and scan in at the ticket podium will receive a coupon for a free Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich.

TICKETS & SPECTATOR GUIDELINES — Tickets to all Pepperdine home women's volleyball matches in 2023 will be available via e-ticket only at www.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. 

SQUAD GOALS — The Waves have had a challenging schedule since the beginning of the season, compiling a 4-6 record, most recently sweeping past Washington and Cal Poly to win the Mustang Invitational last week.  Grace Chillingworth was named Mustang Invitational Tournament MVP and she and Isabel Zelaya both earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

As a team, the Waves averaged 12.17 kills/set on a .221 clip, with 11.37 assists, 1.40 aces, 13.77 digs and 1.89 blocks per set.  They have allowed opponents 13.17 kills/set on a .228 success rate, with 12.23 assists, 1.43 aces, 14.17 digs and 2.20 blocks per set.

Grace Chillingworth leads the Waves offensively, having amassed 3.43 kills/set on a .242, while adding 0.23 aces/set.  Birdie Hendrickson has also played an impact on the pin, producing 2.94 kills, 2.66 digs and adding 0.28 aces per set to the effort.  Meg Brown remains an all-around threat for the team, putting in 2.13 kills, 0.46 aces, 1.17 digs and 0.83 blocks per set.  Isabel Zelaya has been leading in playmaking duties, averaging 9.83 assists and 1.77 digs per set.

On the defensive end along with Brown, Vanessa Polk and Kenadie Patterson have marked 0.79 and 0.60 blocks per set respectively.  Riley Patterson leads in the back row, producing 3.60 digs/set.

LAST WEEK IN SLO — The Waves had a stellar weekend in central California last week, sweeping past Washington - a team receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll - and tournament-host Cal Poly.  Junior Grace Chillingworth was named the Mustang Invitational Tournament MVP, while she and senior Isabel Zelaya tabbed spots on the All-Tournament squad.

Against Washington, the Waves snapped the Huskies seven-match winning streak after collecting 25-21, 25-17 and 25-19 set wins.  The squad posted 46 kills on an impressive .305 hitting percentage and allowing the Huskies only 32 kills on a .116 clip.  Pepperdine also amassed three aces, 53 digs and seven blocks, compared to UW's five aces, 38 digs and six blocks.  Birdie Hendrickson and Chillingworth were both one-dig shy of double-doubles, though they both surpassed the double-figure kill mark.  Hendrickson posted 13 kills and nine digs, while Chillingworth was good for 12 smashes on a .375 success rate, with nine digs.  Emily Hellmuth led the team in blocks with five, while tabbing a season-best nine kills on a .316 clip.  Riley Patterson was solid with 20 digs, while Meg Brown led with a pair of aces, also tabbing five kills, six digs and a pair of blocks.  Isabel Zelaya dished out 39 assists, while helping five players post five kills or more on the strong team hitting percentage.

Then against the tournament-host Mustangs, the Waves commanded the court for a 25-16, 25-23, 25-17 victory.  Pepperdine blasted 47 kills on a .287 output, while giving up 32 kills on a .135 smash.  Though the opposition led 9.0 to 5.0 in blocks, the Waves led 46-38 in digs and 3-2 in aces.  Brown led the team with 12 kills on a .391 output, while adding four digs and a tied team-high three blocks.  Hellmuth also tabbed three blocks, while producing nine kills on a .353 success rate and five digs.  Chillingworth hit for double-figure again with 10 smashes and nine digs and Hendrickson marked nine kills as well.  Vanessa Polk put in a season-best .750 hitting percentage with seven kills and only one error on eight swings and Zelaya led with a double-double after posting 37 assists and 12 digs.

THE COMPETITION — Pacific has gone 8-4 so far this season, most recently winning three-straight with sweeps over Fresno State and CSU Bakersfield and a four-set win over Sacramento State.  The Waves lead all-time against the Tigers with a 24-16 record dating back to 1977 when Pepperdine won 2-0.  Pacific had a 10-match winning streak from 1979 to 1994, but in recent years the Waves have gone 18-5 against the Tigers since 2003.  In the last two seasons, Pepperdine has gone 3-1 against UOP, losing on the road in a five-setter in 2021 before winning the following three matches in straight sets.

LMU has produced a 7-3 record so far this season, including a 3-2 output on the road.  Most recently, the Lions have won five-straight, including sweeps over Boise State, Montana and South Dakota State last week.  Pepperdine leads by an impressive 62-26 all-time, dating back to 1976 when the Waves won 3-0.  The Waves went 17-1 against the Lions from 1984-91 and the longest LMU winning streak was five matches from 1994-96.  In the most recent years, the Waves have gone 8-2 against the Lions since 2018, though LMU's pair of wins both came in four-set decisions last season.

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 five matches now sits at 4,338 assists.  That mark puts her at fourth 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.  Kiah Fiers (2006-09) and Melissa Mehlhorn (2002-05) take up the #2 and #3 spots in the record books with 4,410 and 4,387 record books respectively.