MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine beach volleyball will compete in three duals in the Malibu Invite as #20 Arizona, Boise State, San Francisco and Vanguard make the trip out to Malibu.

DUAL #3 — Pepperdine (1-1) vs. Boise State (4-2) | Friday, Mar. 1 | 9 a.m. | Pepperdine Beach Volleyball Courts | Malibu, Calif.

DUAL #4 — Pepperdine (1-1) vs. San Francisco (1-3) | Friday, Mar. 1 | 1 p.m. | Pepperdine Beach Volleyball Courts | Malibu, Calif.

DUAL #5 — Pepperdine (1-1) vs. #20 Arizona (4-0) | Saturday, Mar. 2 | 8 a.m. | Pepperdine Beach Volleyball Courts | Malibu, Calif.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:

Friday:
Pepperdine vs. Boise State – 9 a.m.
Arizona vs. Vanguard – 11 a.m.
Pepperdine vs. San Francisco – 1 p.m.
Arizona vs. Boise State – 3 p.m.

Saturday:
Pepperdine vs. Arizona – 8 a.m.
Boise State vs. San Francisco – 10 a.m.
San Francisco vs. Vanguard – noon
Boise State vs. Vanguard – 2 p.m.

LIVE COVERAGE: All eight games will have live scoring available with links found on pepperdinewaves.com. 

FAN ATTENDANCE & GUIDELINES: Attendance is free to spectators.  Free parking is also available on the road next to the Marie Canyon Field. Please be prepared to walk up a small hill to the courts, though those in need may notify the Athletics' staff if there is need of assistance.  Bleachers will be available, though lawn chairs, tents and umbrellas are welcomed, as long as no spectator's view is impaired. Due to campus construction, nearby parking may be limited and guests are advised to arrive early.

LOOKING AHEAD: Next week, the Waves will hit the road for the first time this season as they head to Hawai'i to compete in the Queens Cup on March 7-9. There will be six schools competing in the tournament: Hawai'i, Nebraska, Boise State, Saint Mary's, Pepperdine and Chaminade. Pepperdine will take on Chaminade and Nebraska on Thursday before facing off against Boise State and tournament host Hawai'i on Friday. After those four games, teams will be seeded for bracket play on Saturday with the top two teams from Thursday and Friday receiving a bye into the semifinals, while the teams who finish third through sixth will play in the quarterfinals earlier in the day.

WAVES WEATHER: Friday is forecasted to have a high of 58º degrees and wind speeds of two to eight miles per hour with gusts up to 15 miles per hour. There is also a 40% chance of rain on Friday. Saturday is forecasted to have a high of 58º degrees with wind speeds of eight to 14 miles per hour and gusts up to 23 miles per hour in addition to a 50% chance of rain.

LAST WEEK IN MALIBU: Pepperdine went 1-1 to open the 2024 campaign as the Waves opened the year with a dominant 5-0 sweep against Vanguard before falling to Long Beach State.
In the first dual, the Waves made quick work of the Lions. Pepperdine quickly took a 2-0 lead after the first flight with a pair of two-set wins from Aubrey Roberts (Walnut Creek, Calif.) and Gracie Pedersen (Franklin, Tenn.) 21-16, 21-6 on court four and Kaydon Meyers (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Gabriella Perez (Loomis, Calif.) 21-16, 21-19 on court two. Madison Oriskovich (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Kristine Briede (Balozi, Latvia) would be the pair to clinch the win as they took care of business on court three 21-16, 21-16. McKenna Thomas (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and Kate Clermont (Burlington, Ontario) gave Pepperdine another leg up with a 21-18, 21-15 victory in the No. 1 position. Maya McNabney (Ancaster, Ontario) and Emi Erickson (Honolulu, Hawai'i) completed the sweep with an impressive 21-10, 21-14 win in the No. 5 slot.
In the following match against Long Beach State, Beach took a 1-0 lead after earning a two-set victory on court four. After dropping the first set 21-15, Meyers and Perez battled back and forced a third set on court two. The third set went back-and-forth, but Beach ultimately took a 2-0 lead after the first flight by winning the set 16-14.
Long Beach State continued to find success in the second flight as they clinched the dual on court five after a two-set victory. Beach ended up earning a 5-0 victory after a couple of wins on courts three and one.

OPPONENT NOTES: Pepperdine is set to face off against Boise State for the first time in program history.  The Waves have gone 4-0 against San Francisco all-time having swept the Dons in all four contests. Pepperdine is 4-2 all-time against Arizona with the program's last win against the Wildcats coming in 2018.

WAVE REPORT: Pepperdine returns nine from the 2023 squad, including six Waves who started in the WCC Tournament.  Of the familiar faces, the Waves welcome back graduate Aubrey Roberts, seniors Kristine Briede and Gracie Pedersen, juniors Chase Curry, Kate Clermont, Madison Oriskovich and McKenna Thomas and sophomores Emi Erickson and Gabriella Perez.
New faces will include graduate transfer Sarlota Svobodova (Coastal Carolina) and redshirt-sophomore transfer Emma Bubelis (CSU Bakersfield). This year's newest crop of freshmen includes Lauren Cook, Grace Jackson, Kaydon Meyers and Maya McNabney.

PRESEASON PROJECTIONS: Juniors Kate Clermont and McKenna Thomas earned spots on the All-West Coast Conference preseason team. Clermont went 25-7 last season including a 14-3 record at the No. 2 position and an 11-4 record in the No. 1 position alongside Thomas. Thomas also collected a total of 21 wins in the No.1 position during the 2023 season. Graduate transfer Sarlota Svobodova also earned a spot on the All-West Coast Conference preseason team. Svobodova went 26-9 in the No. 2 and No. 3 position as a Chanticleer last season. The Waves were predicted to finish second in the league after the coaches had voted.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY: Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports — one of just 20 schools to have accomplished this feat — and 10 overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 26 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, five times (most recently in back-to-back years during the 2022-23 and 2021-22). Located in scenic Malibu, California, the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #76 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.

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