MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team is facing another tough week of competition with three matches slated in Honolulu for the OUTRIGGER Volleyball Challenge.

MATCH #6 — Thursday (September 7) at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawai'i: Pepperdine vs. UCLA at 7:45 p.m. PT | OUTRIGGER Volleyball Challenge

MATCH #7 — Friday (September 8) at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawai'i: Pepperdine vs. #23 Hawai'i at 10 p.m. PT | Watch: ESPN+ | OUTRIGGER Volleyball Challenge

MATCH #8 — Sunday (September 10) at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawai'i: Pepperdine vs. Liberty at 5:45 p.m. PT | OUTRIGGER Volleyball Challenge

UP NEXT — After returning from the island, the Waves will hit the road once again on September 15 and 16 to challenge Washington and Cal Poly respectively in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

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

COVERAGE — Live stats for all matches will be available, though only the Pepperdine vs. Hawai'i match will be streamed on ESPN+.  All links can be found on PepperdineWaves.com. 

SQUAD GOALS — Pepperdine has faced stiff competition since day one of the season, compiling a 1-4 record with a highlight sweep over San Diego State last week. 

As a team, the Waves averaged 10.94 kills/set on a .185 clip, with 10.24 assists, 1.41 aces, 12.59 digs and 1.82 blocks per set.  They have allowed opponents 13.94 kills/set on a .254 success rate, with 13.12 assists, 1.47 aces, 15.41 digs and 2.18 blocks per set.

Grace Chillingworth and Birdie Hendrickson lead the attack efforts for the Waves, with Chillingworth impressing with 3.35 kills/set on a .249 output from the right side.  She also produces 2.00 digs and 0.24 aces per set.  Hendrickson has produced 2.35 kills/set, while leading the squad with 0.35 aces/set and adding an additional 2.29 digs/set.  Meg Brown is close behind after posting 2.33 kills/set as well.  Isabel Zelaya has served in playmaking duties with 9.18 assists/set and 156 total assists.

On the defensive side, Riley Patterson leads the Waves with 3.59 digs/set and has added 0.24 aces/set for the team.  Zelaya and Trinity Stanger help the cause with 1.24 and 1.38 digs/set respectively as well.  At the net, Vanessa Polk has the team-lead with 15 total blocks including three solos, averaging 0.88 blocks/set.  Kenadie Patterson has helped the effort with 10 blocks (two solos) for 0.67 blocks/set, and Zelaya once again has made an impact with 0.76 blocks/set.

LAST WEEK IN CALI — The Waves went 1-2 last week, dropping the home opener in a tough five-setter to UC Santa Barbara before turning around to sweep San Diego State at their place the following day.  Pepperdine then faced the team's first ranked opponent of the season with #6 Oregon, falling in three.

In the home opener against the Gauchos, the Waves got off to a hot start with 25-21 and 25-19 set scores to begin, though the opposition was able to rally and reverse sweep Pepperdine after amassing 25-22, 25-16 and 15-13 final set scores.  Grace Chillingworth had a solid night with a tied career-high 22 kills.  She did so on a .297 success rate and added a double-double effort with 10 digs.  Riley Patterson led with 18 digs, while she and Birdie Hendrickson had a team-best three aces apiece.  Hendrickson also tabbed a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs throughout the night.  Vanessa Polk marked six blocks, including two solo rejections and Isabel Zelaya was good for 49 assists, eight digs and three blocks herself.

In the following match against the Aztecs, the Waves quickly compiled 25-17, 28-26 and 25-21 set scores for the win.  Chillingworth led the squad on the attack with 10 kills, while R. Patterson had the team-high 13 digs.  Kenadie Patterson led at the net with six blocks including one solo rejection, while each Polk and Zelaya produced four blocks.  Zelaya also led with 30 assists.

In the final matchup against the #6 Ducks, the Waves succumbed to 25-21, 25-16 and 25-17 set scores for the loss.  Chillingworth produced 16 kills on a .371 clip, along with three aces and eight digs.  R. Patterson was good for 10 digs to lead the squad and Zelaya tallied 27 assists.  Hendrickson and Polk connected for one block apiece.

THE COMPETITION — UCLA has gone 4-1 to start the season, splitting a pair of five-set matches to open the season against LSU before defeating Northwestern State, Indiana and Long Beach State most recently.  UCLA leads all-time with a 51-12 record against Pepperdine since 1976.  The Waves went on a five-match winning streak, the program's longest against the Bruins, from 2001-04, though in recent years, UCLA has led with an 8-1 record against Pepperdine since 2005. 

Hawai'i has gone 4-1 as well to open the 2023 campaign, starting with a pair of wins over Northwestern and fellow WCC opponent and then-ranked #13 San Diego.  The Rainbow Wahine then fell in straight sets to then-ranked #9 Oregon before winning a pair of matches against USC.  Hawai'i leads 31-4 when playing against the Waves all-time, including a win in the first-ever matchup in 1976.  The Rainbow Wahine then won seven-straight through 1978 before the Waves won their first pair of matches against them on the road, 3-2 in that same year.  Hawai'i has had two more streaks, 11-straight from 1978-88 and 13-consecutive from 1998-2016.  Most recently the last time the two teams faced, however, Pepperdine won in five sets in Malibu in 2018.

Liberty has gone an undefeated 6-0 so far this season, with wins against Bucknell, Gardner-Webb, Stony Brook, High Point, Army and Yale.  This will be the first meeting between Liberty and Pepperdine.

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 4,150 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.