Pepperdine to Play in Four Duals This Weekend

Friday, March 22

Malibu, Calif.

10:00 a.m. PT

Pepperdine University

Concordia University Irvine

Photo by: Sarah Otteman

3/20/2024 12:37:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball

By: By Athletic Communications

MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine beach volleyball team will compete in four duals at the PCH Invite this weekend.

DUAL #15 — Pepperdine (7-7) vs. CUI (13-5) | Friday, Mar. 22 | 10 a.m. | Pepperdine Beach Volleyball Courts | Malibu, Calif.

DUAL #16 — Pepperdine (7-7) vs. Colorado Mesa (11-3) | Friday, Mar. 22 | 2 p.m. | Pepperdine Beach Volleyball Courts | Malibu, Calif.

DUAL #17 — Pepperdine (7-7) vs. #10 LMU (9-8) | Sunday, Mar. 24 | 10 a.m. | LMU Beach Volleyball Courts | Los Angeles, Calif.

DUAL #18 — Pepperdine (7-7) vs. Tulane (13-5) | Sunday, Mar. 24 | 2 p.m. | LMU Beach Volleyball Courts | Los Angeles, Calif.

LIVE COVERAGE: The Waves duals on Friday will have live scoring available with links found on pepperdinewaves.com. If available, links to any broadcasts and/or live results for Saturday's competitions can be found at pepperdinewaves.com.

LOOKING AHEAD: Next weekend, the Waves will compete at the West Coast Challenge in Santa Cruz, Calif. Pepperdine will take on Portland on Friday at 10 a.m. before facing off against Santa Clara at 2 p.m. The Waves will then compete again on Saturday, but their opponent will be determined after the conclusion of Friday's competition.

PCH CUP: An annual all-sport competition between two local rivals that are separated by just 19.1 miles of scenic coastline, the PCH Cup is in its 15th season of existence. Pepperdine has won 11 of the 14 years that this competition has been held.

WAVES WEATHER: Friday is forecasted to have a high of 65º degrees and wind speeds of two to seven miles per hour with gusts up to 11 miles per hour. Saturday shows a high of 64º degrees and wind speeds of two to 12 miles per hour with gusts up to 29 miles per hour. Both days of competition will have clear visibility with no rain slated to occur.

LAST WEEK: Pepperdine went 1-1 at the Beach Challenge in Long Beach, Calif. on Friday, March 15. The Waves swept Nebraska with a dominant performance as they took four courts in two-sets. However, Pepperdine stumbled against Arizona State in the second dual of the day, falling 4-1.

In the first dual, Pepperdine jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with a pair of two-set victories as Madison Oriskovich (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Kristine Briede (Balozi, Latvia) won court two 21-14, 21-16 and Kaydon Meyers (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Gracie Pedersen (Franklin, Tenn.) took court four 21-15, 21-12.

Maya McNabney (Ancaster, Ontario, Canada) and Emi Erickson (Honolulu, Hawai'i) would be the pair to clinch the dual for the Waves as they won in straight sets in slot No. 5, 21-17, 21-19.

Sarlota Svobodova (Brno, Czech Republic) and Gabriella Perez (Loomis, Calif.) then added on to Pepperdine's lead after winning court three 21-19, 21-18 to make the advantage 4-0.

Although Kate Clermont (Burlington, Ontario, Canada) and Chase Curry (Atlanta, Ga.) lost a tight first set 20-22 in slot No. 1, the duo bounced back and completed the sweep for the Waves as they gutted out the last two sets 21-18, 15-10.

In the second dual, Arizona State took a 2-0 lead after earning a pair of two-set victories on courts five and four.

The Sun Devils would clinch the dual as they earned another two-set victory in slot No. 3, 21-12, 23-21.

In slot No. 1, Clermont and McKenna Thomas (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) earned a hard-fought two-set victory 24-22, 21-19 to put the Waves on the board.

Briede and Oriskovich dropped a tight first set 22-24 on court two, but bounced back and forced a third set as they won the second 21-19. However, the Sun Devil duo would ultimately take the court as they won a close third set 15-13, which made the final score 4-1 in favor of Arizona State.

OPPONENT NOTES: The Waves are 6-0 against CUI all-time with their last win coming in 2023. Pepperdine is 2-0 all-time against Colorado Mesa and have swept the Mavericks in both duals. The Waves are 1-0 all-time against Tulane with the lone matchup coming in 2013. Pepperdine is 11-14 all-time against LMU, with the Waves last win occurring in 2019.

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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