MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine's beach volleyball program will head to Honolulu, Hawai'i to compete in the Queen's Cup on March 7-9.
DUAL #6 — Pepperdine (2-3) vs. Chaminade (1-0) | Thursday, Mar. 7 | 1:30 p.m. PT | Queen's Beach | Honolulu, Hawai'i
DUAL #7 — Pepperdine (2-3) vs. Nebraska (8-3) | Thursday, Mar. 7 | 5:15 p.m. PT | Queen's Beach | Honolulu, Hawai'i
DUAL #8 — Pepperdine (2-3) vs. Boise State (7-3) | Friday, Mar. 8 | 12:15 p.m. PT | Queen's Beach | Honolulu, Hawai'i
DUAL #9 — Pepperdine (2-3) vs. #12 Hawai'i (0-5) | Friday, Mar. 8 | 2:45 p.m. PT | Queen's Beach | Honolulu, Hawai'i
DUAL #10 — Pepperdine (2-3) vs. TBD | Saturday, Mar. 9 | TBD | Queen's Beach | Honolulu, Hawai'i
There will be six schools competing in the tournament: Hawai'i, Nebraska, Boise State, Saint Mary's, Pepperdine and Chaminade. After the conclusion of Friday's duals, 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. Bracket play is single elimination, and the Waves could play up to three duals on Saturday.
LIVE COVERAGE: All of Pepperdine's duals will have live scoring available with links found on pepperdinewaves.com.
LOOKING AHEAD: Next week, the Waves will stay on the road as they head to Long Beach, Calif. to compete in the Beach Challenge on March 15. Pepperdine will take on Nebraska at 9 a.m. before battling against #10 Arizona State at noon.
WAVES WEATHER: Thursday is forecasted to have a high of 76º degrees and wind speeds of 18 to 20 miles per hour with gusts up to 34 miles per hour. Friday's forecast shows a high of 76º degrees and wind speeds of 18 to 22 miles per hour with gusts up to 36 miles per hour. Saturday is forecasted to have a high of 75º degrees with wind speeds of 18 to 21 miles per hour and gusts up to 35 miles per hour. All three days show clear visibility and no chance of rain.
LAST WEEK IN MALIBU: Pepperdine went 1-2 at home in the Malibu Invite last weekend, dropping a dual against Boise State 4-1 before sweeping San Francisco on Friday. Then on Saturday, Pepperdine had a highly contested contest against #20 Arizona, but the squad fell 3-2.
In the first dual, Boise State took an early 2-0 lead after the first flight with a pair of two-set victories on courts two and four. The Broncos would then clinch the victory by winning court five in consecutive sets. Though Pepperdine put up a solid effort in the No. 1 slot, the Broncos took that court with a 22-20, 21-18 score and held a 4-0 lead. In a highly contested matchup in the No. 3 slot,
Madison Oriskovich (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and
Kristine Briede (Balozi, Latvia) would earn the Waves a point by winning 26-24, 23-21 and finish the match with Boise State winning 4-1.
In the second dual against the Dons, Pepperdine quickly took a 2-0 lead after the first flight with a pair of two-set wins from Oriskovich and Briede 21-16, 21-12 on court two and
Aubrey Roberts (Walnut Creek, Calif.) and
Gracie Pedersen (Franklin, Tenn.) 21-13, 21-17 on court four.
Kaydon Meyers (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and
Gabriella Perez (Loomis, Calif.) would be the pair to clinch the win as they took care of business in the No. 3 slot 21-7, 21-17.
McKenna Thomas (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and
Kate Clermont (Burlington, Ontario) gave Pepperdine another leg up with a 21-14, 21-16 victory in the No. 1 position.
Maya McNabney (Ancaster, Ontario) and
Emi Erickson (Honolulu, Hawai'i) completed the sweep with another two-set 22-20, 21-18 win on court five.
Then on Saturday against #20 Arizona, Pedersen and Meyers took a tight first set 23-21 on court four, but the Wildcats won the last two sets to put Arizona in front 1-0. In slot No. 2, Oriskovich and Briede also took their first set 25-23 in the first flight. However, Arizona would battle back and earn the victory on court two as they won the last two sets.
In the second flight, Erickson and Roberts would take a two-set victory on court five 21-19, 23-21 and put the Waves on the board making it a 2-1 Wildcat advantage. In the No. 1 slot, Clermont and Thomas would knot the dual up 2-2 as they had a dominant 21-14 21-16 win.
All eyes then turned to court three. Although Perez and
Sarlota Svobodova (Brno, Czech Republic) put up a strong effort, the Wildcats would take court three 21-15, 21-17 and clinch the dual 3-2.
OPPONENT NOTES: Pepperdine is set to face off against Chaminade for the first time in program history. The Waves are 2-0 against Nebraska all-time having swept the Huskers in both contests. Pepperdine is 0-1 all-time against Boise State as the two teams met in the Malibu Invite last weekend. The Waves are 12-3 all-time against Hawai'i with a pair of 3-2 wins in 2019. Pepperdine could possibly face Saint Mary's in bracket play on Saturday, and the Waves are 13-2 all-time against the Gaels having swept the last dual in 2023.
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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