Pepperdine to Host Waves Tourney

Friday, April 5

Malibu, Calif.

9:00 a.m. PT

Pepperdine University

Southeastern Louisiana

Photo by: Morgan Davenport

4/3/2024 4:47:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball

By: By Athletic Communications

MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine beach volleyball team will host the Waves Tourney in Malibu, Calif. this weekend

DUAL #22 — Pepperdine (12-10) vs. Southeastern Louisiana (9-10) | Friday, Apr. 5 | 9 a.m. | Malibu, Calif.

DUAL #23 — Pepperdine (12-10) vs. CSU Bakersfield (12-14) | Friday, Apr. 5 | 1 p.m. | Malibu, Calif.

DUAL #24 — Pepperdine (12-10) vs. UC Davis (14-12) | Saturday, Apr. 6 | 9 a.m. | Malibu, Calif.

LIVE COVERAGE: Links to live results for the weekend can be found at pepperdinewaves.com.

WAVES TOURNEY SCHEDULE:
Friday:
Pepperdine vs. Southeastern Louisiana – 9 a.m.
CUI vs. UC Davis – 11 a.m.
Pepperdine vs. CSUB – 1 p.m.
UC Davis vs. Southeastern Louisiana – 3 p.m.

Saturday:

Pepperdine vs. UC Davis – 9 a.m.
CSUB vs. Southeastern Louisiana – 11 a.m.
CSUB vs. CUI – 1 p.m.
CUI vs. Southeastern Louisiana – 3 p.m.

LOOKING AHEAD: Next weekend, the Waves will head to San Luis Obispo, Calif. for the Center of Effort Challenge as they face USC, TCU and Long Beach State. Pepperdine will play additional duals after competing against Long Beach State, but the opponent will be determined later.

WAVES WEATHER: Friday is forecasted to have a high of 54º degrees and wind speeds of seven to 18 miles per hour with gusts up to 26 miles per hour. Friday also shows a 35% chance of rain on the day. Saturday shows a high of 60º degrees and wind speeds of three to eight miles per hour with gusts up to 11 miles per hour. There is no rain slated for Saturday.

LAST WEEK: Pepperdine went 3-1 at the West Coast Challenge on Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30.

On Friday in the first dual, Pepperdine jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with a pair of two-set victories as Gabriella Perez (Loomis, Calif.) and Sarlota Svobodova (Brno, Czech Republic) took court three 21-7, 21-13 and Madison Oriskovich (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Kristine Briede (Balozi, Latvia) won court two 21-12, 21-12.

Kate Clermont (Burlington, Ontario, Canada) and McKenna Thomas (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) would be the pair to clinch the dual for the Waves as they earned a two-set victory on court one, 21-10, 21-11.

In slot No. 5, Emi Erickson (Honolulu, Hawai'i) and Maya McNabney (Ancaster, Ontario, Canada) would increase Pepperdine's advantage to 4-0 after winning in two sets, 22-20, 21-12.

Gracie Pedersen (Franklin, Tenn.) and Kaydon Meyers (Scottsdale, Ariz.) would complete the sweep for Pepperdine as they won in straight sets in slot No. 4, 24-22, 21-14.

In the second dual, the Waves jumped out to another quick 2-0 lead thanks to two-set victories by Oriskovich and Briede on court two, 21-9, 21-11, and Erickson and McNabney on court five, 21-15, 21-18.

In slot No. 3, Perez and Svobodova would clinch the dual for the Waves with another two-set victory, 21-15, 21-8.

Clermont and Thomas would win court one in straight sets 21-15, 21-10 as they continued their dominant season to increase Pepperdine's lead to 4-0.

After dropping the first set 16-21, Pedersen and Meyers would fight back and complete the sweep over the Broncos as they earned a hard-fought three set victory after taking the second and third sets 21-19, 20-18.

Then on Saturday, In the first dual, Pepperdine jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with a pair of two-set victories as Emi Erickson (Honolulu, Hawai'i) and Maya McNabney (Ancaster, Ontario, Canada) took court five, 21-13, 21-10 and Gracie Pedersen (Franklin, Tenn.) and Kaydon Meyers (Scottsdale, Ariz.) won court four 22-10, 21-16.

Kate Clermont (Burlington, Ontario, Canada) and McKenna Thomas (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) would be the pair to clinch the dual for the Waves as they earned a two-set victory on court one, 21-11, 21-14.

After dropping the first set 17-21 in slot No. 2, Kristine Briede (Balozi, Latvia) and Madison Oriskovich (Santa Barbara, Calif.) battled back and won the court after taking the last two sets 21-14, 15-5.

In slot No. 3, Gabriella Perez (Loomis, Calif.) and Sarlota Svobodova (Brno, Czech Republic) also dropped their first set 18-21, but were able to come back and complete the sweep as they took sets two and three 21-13, 15-11.

In the second dual, Loyola Marymount quickly took a 2-0 lead with a couple victories on courts five and one, 21-10, 21-12 and 21-8, 21-15 respectively.

Madison Oriskovich (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Kristine Briede (Balozi, Latvia) would cut the Lions advantage in half, 2-1 as they defeated the LMU duo 21-16, 21-17 in slot No. 2.

The Lions would clinch the dual after winning slot No. 3 in two sets, 21-19, 21-19. LMU would then make the final score 4-1 after taking court four 21-17, 21-17.

OPPONENT NOTES: The Waves are set to face off against Southeastern Louisiana for the first time in program history. Pepperdine is a perfect 8-0 against CSUB all-time with the last win coming in 2022. The Waves are 3-0 all-time against UC Davis with their last win coming 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.

FOLLOW
Follow @WavesBeachVB on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to PepperdineWaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.