MALIBU, Calif. — Closing out the regular season, Pepperdine women's volleyball will play its last two matches at home against San Diego on Wednesday and Oregon State on Saturday.
Free Pepperdine women's volleyball shirts will be given to the first 100 fans on Wednesday. Both matches start at noon. Tickets for both remaining matches can be purchased here.
At #46 in the latest RPI rankings, Pepperdine is looking to make its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and is still in the hunt to defend its WCC title. In the WCC standings, the Waves are one game behind first-place LMU with two matches remaining. Wednesday's match against the Toreros is Pepperdine's toughest match left of the regular season, as the Toreros are third in the WCC standings.
MATCH #27 — Wednesday, Nov. 27 against San Diego at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. | Pepperdine (16-10, 13-3 WCC) vs. San Diego (17-9, 12-4) at 12 p.m. | ESPN+
MATCH #28 — Saturday, Nov. 30 against Oregon State at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. | Pepperdine (16-10, 13-3 WCC) vs. Oregon State (10-16, 8-8) at 12 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.
NCAA TOURNAMENT ODDS — The squad stands #46 in RPI rankings, second in the WCC behind #30 LMU and ahead of #56 San Diego. All 10 of Pepperdine's losses have been against top-75 teams in the RPI. The Waves' best five wins this season have come against #40 Hawaii, at home against #87 Omaha and #111 UC Santa Barbara, plus a season sweep of #109 Washington State.
THE COMPETITION — San Diego has gone 17-9 overall on the season and 12-4 in West Coast Conference play, placing the squad at third in the WCC rankings. The squad currently ranks first in hitting percentage and blocks per set, posting a .246 and 2.58, respectively. The Toreros also post 14.59 digs and 16.47 points per set. In the national ranks, San Diego stands 28th in blocks per set, and 38th in opponent hitting percentage, with a .172. The last time the Waves and Toreros met in San Diego, Pepperdine lost the match in five sets.
Oregon State has posted a 10-16 overall record while going 8-8 in WCC matches. The Beavers are currently tied for fifth with San Francisco in conference rankings. On average, the squad posts 12.62 kills per set with a .222 success rate while also adding 11.68 assists, 12.84 digs, 1.94 blocks, and 1.52 service aces per set. The last time the Beavers and Waves met Pepperdine won the match in four sets.
LAST TIME OUT — Last week, Pepperdine won both of its matches on the road against Saint Mary's and Pacific. Against the Gaels, the Waves swept their third-straight conference opponent, as freshman Ella Piskorz had a career night, posting 15 kills. Piskorz also served three aces and 3.5 total blocks — all of which were match-highs — while Grace Chillingworth added 12 kills and Birdie Hendrickson tabbed 10 kills and 10 digs allowing for her 11th double-double of the season. Setter Rosemary Archer also notched her eighth double-double of the season with 40 assists and 10 digs.
Against Pacific, Pepperdine took the four-set match thanks to Chloe Pravednikov's career best performance. Pravednikov led all players with a career-high 19 kills on a .341 hitting percentage. Chillingworth posted a double-double, with 14 kills, 13 digs, and four service aces, while Hendrickson notched eight kills and a career-high 22 digs.
WAVES CLAIM WCC WEEKLY AWARDS — Trinity Stanger and Chloe Pravednikov earned West Coast Conference Weekly awards after their stellar performances last week. Pravednikov was named the WCC Freshman of the Week after setting her career-high with 19 kills against Pacific, while Stanger was named WCC Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Waves in digs last week. This is the second WCC weekly award for Stanger this season and the first-ever award for Pravednikov.
Last week, Pravednikov recorded 27 kills and averaged 3.86 kills per set. After posting eight kills in last Thursday's three-set sweep at Saint Mary's, Pravednikov led all players at Pacific with a career-high 19 kills — the second-most kills in a match by any WCC freshman this season. Stanger led the Waves' defense last week, leading the team with 37 digs, averaging 5.29 digs per set across both matches, while also adding seven assists and serving three aces.
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.
