MALIBU, Calif. — After a successful week hosting two West Coast Conference matches in Malibu, the Waves will travel to Northern California to face San Francisco at 7 p.m. on Thursday and Santa Clara at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
MATCH #18 — Thursday, Oct. 24 at War Memorial Gym at The Sobrato Center in San Francisco, Calif. | Pepperdine (9-8, 6-1 WCC) vs. San Francisco (12-7, 5-2 WCC) at 7 p.m. | ESPN+
MATCH #19 — Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Leavey Center in Santa Clara, Calif. | Pepperdine (9-8, 6-1 WCC) vs. Santa Clara (6-10, 2-5 WCC) at 1 p.m. | ESPN+
SOCIAL MEDIA — Follow @WavesVolleyball on X for updates and check out PepperdineWaves.com and Facebook (/WavesVolleyball) for releases and more information. Find the Waves on Instagram @peppvolley.
ESPN+ & COVERAGE — For the second straight year, all WCC matches will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats and live stream links can be found on pepperdinewaves.com.
THE COMPETITION — The Dons are 12-7 on the season so far, including only two losses in conference play. Last week, San Francisco swept Gonzaga but fell to Pacific in five sets. San Francisco currently leads the conference in four categories, including 17.25 points, 12.05 assists, and 13.22 kills per set, while also posting a .263 hitting percentage. The Dons stand third in the conference and 43rd nationally with 2.09 blocks per set. In the national rankings, San Francisco stands at 29th in hitting percentage, 34th in team total blocks, posting 185, and 43rd in blocks per set with 2.53. Pepperdine leads the series 70-8 all-time, including two 3-0 wins last season for the Waves.
Santa Clara has a 6-10 overall record throughout the season so far, while going 2-5 in WCC play. Last week, the Broncos faced off against Pacific and won the match in four sets, recording 25-20, 27-25, 23-25, and 25-18 set scores. Santa Clara is averaging 15.78 points per set, including 12.42 kills, 1.77 blocks, and 1.60 service aces per set, while also tabbing a .205 hitting percentage. The Waves lead the series 52-33 all-time, with their two meetings last season both resulting in 3-0 wins for Pepperdine.
UP NEXT — Pepperdine will return home for a match against Washington State on Nov. 2 at noon in Firestone Fieldhouse.
LAST TIME OUT — The Waves added two WCC wins against Saint Mary's and Portland in a slate of home matches last week. Against the Gaels, the Waves won in four sets. Birdie Hendrickson tied her career high with 25 kills and set her career high with 21 digs. The Waves had a .305 success rate and saw four players finish with double-figure kills, with Riley Simpson adding 15 kills on a .536 clip while Grace Chillingworth and Kenadie Patterson finished with 14 and 10 kills, respectively. Rosemary Archer led the playmaking duties and notched a career-high 49-assist, 19-dig double-double.
While facing Portland, Pepperdine posted 25-21, 25-12, and 25-16 set scores to sweep the Pilots. Pepperdine out-hit Portland, posting a season-best .416 hitting percentage with 45 kills while also serving 10 aces, four of which came from Chillingworth, who also added 13 kills. Hendrickson posted 16 kills in the match while Simpson added six kills. Ella Piskorz led the defensive efforts for the Waves, assisting all six of the squad's blocks. Archer tabbed 34 assists and also tied her career-high with four total blocks for the second-straight match.
BIRDIE TAKES WCC ACCLAIM — After a career week for Birdie Hendrickson, she was named the West Coast Conference's Offensive Player of the Week. Last week, Hendrickson averaged 5.86 kills and 3.71 digs per set while posting a .420 hitting percentage. She led the squad with 41 kills across in both matches last week, having a career-tying 25-kill and career-high 21-dig double-double against Saint Mary's. Hendrickson ranks among the top five in the WCC in three separate categories, she is third in points per set with 3.98, fourth for kills per set with 3.50, and fifth in total kills, totaling 238.
WCC PRESEASON HONORS — Grace Chillingworth, Birdie Hendrickson and Riley Simpson all made the WCC All-Preseason Team, which was announced in August. The Waves were also picked to finish first in the WCC Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving eight first-place votes.
2023 RECAP — The Waves are coming off a 19-9 season, including a WCC Championship win and berth into the program's 27th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which is the program's fifth in the last six years. After a 1-6 start to the 2023 campaign, the Waves rallied, winning the next 17 consecutive matches, including 14 in straight sets from Sept. 10 through Nov. 11. The 17 wins in a row tied the program's second-best win streak in history, which had last been done in 2002 (17) and 2003 (25). It was the eighth time in program history that Pepperdine has won 13 or more games consecutively as well. In conference play, the Waves dropped just six of the 53 sets they played. The team ended their season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, losing in five sets to #18 Dayton.
The Waves averaged 12.5 kills per set on a .228 success rate while adding 14.3 digs, 12.5 assists, 2.4 blocks, and 1.5 aces per set. Pepperdine kept opponents to 12.1 kills with a .194 hitting percentage. Grace Chillingworth led the attack, posting 3.78 kills per set on a .272 clip, while also leading the squad in service aces, recording 32 aces in her 96 sets played. Vanessa Polk posted strong defensive efforts, adding .84 blocks per set. Brynne McGhie had a solid freshman campaign on playmaking duties, tallying 2.56 assists per set last season.
ONE LAST BOWL OF CHILLI — Returning for her final season with the Waves, 2023 WCC Player of the Year, Grace Chillingworth will look to help the squad defend its WCC title. The senior outside/opposite hitter from Tustin, Calif. collected AVCA All-American and AVCA All-Pacific South Region awards, as well as four WCC Offensive Player of the Week honors last season. Chillingworth led the league by averaging 3.78 kills per set last season, which also ranked 64th in the nation, while also recording seven double-doubles, and 22 matches with double-figure kills.
FRESHMEN TAKEOVER — The 2024 squad features seven freshmen, making up almost half of the Waves' roster. Team Canada middle blocker Ella Piskorz, is joining Pepperdine after being a part of Canada's U19 FIVB squad that played at the World Championship in Croatia and Hungary in 2023. Outside hitter and all-league player of the year, Chloe Pravednikov is a Southern California native and collected numerous league awards throughout her four-year varsity run. A libero out of Kailua, Hawai'i, Charis Kai, earned a spot on the Prep Volleyball Class of 2024 Watch List, helped her team to a HHSAA Division II State Championship in 2023. Maggie Beauer also joins the squad after winning the American National Championship in 2024, while earning MVP honors at the tournament. Beauer also helped her high school be ranked as high as 23rd in the nation and win the 2023 6A Arizona State Championship. Mila Stojakovic, daughter of longtime Sacramento King Peja Stojakovic, bolsters the front row after helping lead St. Francis Catholic HS to a sectional championship last year. Tustin, Calif. native Ella Irwin will help defensively, having played four years of varsity volleyball as a libero for Foothill High School in Tustin, Calif. Texan setter Piper Justiss rounds out the group of freshmen; she was a 6A All-District selection for Bowie High School in 2023.
MORE THAN AN ATHLETE — For several seasons, the Waves have made mental health a priority among the team. The white jerseys the team wears sport a green ribbon, which signifies mental health awareness. Throughout a majority of the games, many players will wear green hair ties and bracelets, and even paint their nails, all in support of the mental health awareness initiative and erasing the stigma. The team also has two shirts that sport the phrases "'More Than an Athlete" and "Be Kind to Your Mind." A focus for the team is to live an honest and healthy lifestyle with each other. At practice, the team will have at least one weekly meeting and check-in with the team and coaches where the floor is open. From those check-ins, the team knows who needs to be lifted up throughout the week, who needs to be checked in with and reasons why they might be struggling. Pepperdine women's volleyball is attempting to erase the stigma surrounding mental health in athletes.
SEASON TICKETS — Season tickets are now available for all fall sports, including women's volleyball. Additionally, Pepperdine is offering a Fall All-Sport Pass, which grants admission to all fall home sports including women's soccer, women's volleyball and men's water polo - a $525 retail value for just $150. Learn more and access those exclusive season ticket offers here: gowav.es/peppszntix2425.
GROUP OPPORTUNITIES — Interested in bringing your group out to a Pepperdine Athletics event? Unique experiences include anthem buddies, national anthem performances, fan tunnels, halftime performances and more. Group tickets (15+ tickets) and experiences are available, beginning at $5 per person for women's volleyball, men's water polo and women's soccer. Those interested in purchasing group tickets can fill out this form or reach out to the ticket office via e-mail wavestix@pepperdine.edu or phone (866) WAVE-TIX.
JR. WAVES — Register your kid(s) to join Pepperdine's official kids club, "Jr. Waves" for the 2024-2025 academic year. Jr. Waves receive an exclusive t-shirt, membership card and a lanyard that grants free general admission to all Pepperdine ticketed sporting events. Memberships start at $100 per kid.
