SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — After leading the Pepperdine women's volleyball team up front against two of the nation's top teams, freshman middle blocker Ella Piskorz was named the West Coast Conference Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week by the conference on Monday.
This is the first time Piskorz has won a WCC award, but not the first weekly conference award of the season for Pepperdine. Birdie Hendrickson was the WCC's offensive player of the week after the Waves' pair of matches in Hawai'i. The last time a Wave won the WCC's weekly defensive award was Riley Patterson, who did so in November 2022.
Last week, Piskorz led Pepperdine with 25 blocks (and three solo blocks) across four matches — including two against #1 Pitt and #2 Stanford. Her 2.37 points per set were third-most on the team during last week's stretch of play. As it stands, Piskorz ranks third in the WCC and 75th in the nation with 1.25 blocks per set. Her 40 total blocks on the season also rank third in the conference and 51st in the nation.
Against #2 Stanford last Wednesday, Piskorz led Pepperdine with seven blocks while chipping in five kills, three digs and an assist. Less than 48 hours later against the number one team in the nation, the freshman from Mississauga, Canada led the Pepperdine block with five total blocks (one solo) while chipping in another five kills on offense.
Piskorz's play only improved during the weekend. She set a career-high with 10 blocks in Pepperdine's reverse sweep of Omaha, then in Sunday's sweep of UCSB, her sixth and final kill at the net sealed the sweep, plus her six total blocks led the team.
Piskorz and the Waves will make the short trip to Long Beach for a pair of matches against Washington and Long Beach State in the Walter Pyramid. Their first match is against Big Ten newcomer Washington on Friday at 3 p.m.
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:
gowav.es/peppszntix2425.
