MALIBU, Calif. — After splitting a pair of matches against Hawai'i, Pepperdine will return to Firestone Fieldhouse for a four-game home stretch featuring the nation's top two teams.
The Waves will host #2 Stanford in a standalone game on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Free retro fan flags will be given to the first 50 students at that game. Later this week, Pepperdine hosts #1 Pitt, Omaha, and UC Santa Barbara for the Asics Classic, which takes place from Friday through Sunday. Sunday's match against UC Santa Barbara also doubles as Pepperdine's Mental Health Awareness Game.
MATCH #5 — Wednesday, Sept. 11 at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. | Pepperdine (1-3) vs. #2 Stanford (4-0) at 6 p.m. | ESPN+
MATCH #6 —Friday, Sept. 13 at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. | Pepperdine (1-3) vs. #1 Pitt (3-0) at 6:30 p.m. | ESPN+
MATCH #7 — Saturday, Sept. 14 at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. Pepperdine (1-3) vs. Omaha (0-5) at 5 p.m. | ESPN+
MATCH #8 — Sunday, Sept. 15 at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. Pepperdine (1-3) vs. UC Santa Barbara (2-4) at 3 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.
THE COMPETITION — Stanford is currently ranked #2 in the AVCA Coach's Poll after starting the season with a four-game win streak. Three out of four of the Cardinal's wins this season have been over ranked teams, including a 3-2 victory over #18 Minnesota, and a 3-1 win over #6 Wisconsin. Stanford averages 14.4 kills per set on a .307 clip, 13.3 digs, and 2.2 service aces per set. The last time the Cardinal and Waves met was in 2022, which resulted in a 3-1 loss for Pepperdine.
Pitt, the newly top-ranked team in the nation, earned their ranking after a 5-0 start to its season, including a 3-0 sweep over #10 Oregon. The Panthers average 13.0 kills with a .356 success rate per set, 11.1 digs, and 3.1 service aces and digs per set. Pepperdine is tied 3-3 with Pitt in its all-time meetings, with its last match being in 2019 in a five-set loss at home.
Omaha has started the season 0-5. The Mavericks are averaging 10.1 kills on a .129 hitting percentage, 13.1 digs, 1.7 service aces, and 1.5 blocks per set. This will be the first time Omaha and Pepperdine will play against each other.
Finishing off the Asics Classic, Pepperdine will play UC Santa Barbara, which has a 2-4 start to its season. Of their four losses, three came from ranked opponents, and from WCC foe, San Diego. The Gauchos average 11.3 kills on a .200 clip, 12.3 digs, 2.4 blocks, and 1.6 service aces per set. Pepperdine leads the series against Santa Barbara 33-31, with their most recent matchup in 2023 resulting in a 3-2 loss.
UP NEXT — The Waves will head to Long Beach to participate in the LBSU Tournament, where they will face Washington and Long Beach State. The Waves will take on the Huskies at 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 20, and the Beach on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 4 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT — Pepperdine women's volleyball team outlasted previously undefeated Hawai'i in five sets (25-15, 25-27, 21-25, 25-20, 15-11) for its first win of the season. Led by Grace Chillingworth, who posted 20 kills on a .381 hitting percentage, while Birdie Hendrickson added 14 kills, five digs, three assists, and a pair of aces. Kenadie Patterson recorded eight blocks to go along with two kills, and Rosemary Archer led the playmaking duties by tabbing 28 assists, nine digs, a kill, and an ace. The Waves' freshmen also made an impact on the court, with Chloe Pravednikov setting a career-high 13 kills — including the match-winning kill, with Maggie Beauer adding in five kills, six blocks, and 10 digs in her first collegiate start.
In match two, Pepperdine nearly pulled off the reverse sweep, yet fell 3-2 (16-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 9-15) to Hawai'i on Saturday night. Despite a career night for WCC Offensive Player of the Week Birdie Hendrickson, who had a 25-kill, 10-dig double-double, the Waves couldn't hold out against the Rainbow Wahine in the fifth set. Hendrickson tied her previous career high with 14 kills less than 24 hours prior against Hawai'i, but on Saturday, she notched 20 kills in three sets alone. Grace Chillingworth added a 16-kill, 19-dig double-double performance, while Brynne McGhie posted her first double-double of the season with a team-high 31 assists and 14 digs.
WCC PRESEASON HONORS — Grace Chillingworth, Birdie Hendrickson, and Riley Simpson all made the WCC All-Preseason Team, which was announced last Friday. 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/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.
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.
