Pepperdine University
Missouri S&T
Pepperdine to Open Season Against Missouri S&T
1/12/2025 6:49:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. — After cancelations of Pepperdine men's volleyball home opener matches due to ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles, the Waves will open up the regular season with a match against Missouri S&T on Monday in Firestone Fieldhouse.
MATCH #1 — Monday (Jan. 13) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (0-0) vs. Missouri S&T (0-3) at 4 p.m.
COVERAGE – All home and MPSF matches will be streamed on B1G+ all season, links can be found at https://pepperdinewaves.com.
FREE ADMISSION: Entry will be free while those who have already purchased tickets should contact alrick.drummond@pepperdine.edu or call 866-WAVE-TIX to exchange tickets for another game or request a refund.
DONATIONS: In response to the mounting challenges caused by the recent and current Los Angeles County fires, Pepperdine has established the Pepperdine Strong Fund to provide immediate financial assistance to those impacted by this crisis. Your generosity will help alleviate the financial burdens of evacuation costs, travel interruptions, and other urgent needs, allowing students, staff, and faculty to focus on their recovery while starting the semester during this difficult time. Donations can be made here.
Those wishing to donate items for any of those who have experienced loss through the fires can find a list of designated places here.
GETTING TO PEPPERDINE: Please note that at this time, access to campus is limited to Kanan Road and Pacific Coast Highway north of campus. The John Tyler Drive entrance gate is the only open access point to Pepperdine. Malibu Canyon and PCH south of campus remain closed. Please check all viable routes before departing for Pepperdine.
UP NEXT — The Waves will play a slate of home matches next weekend against D'Youville (Jan. 19) and Emmanuel (Jan. 20) in Firestone Fieldhouse.
FOLLOW — Follow the Waves on Facebook and X, @PeppVolleyball, and follow the team on Instagram and TikTok, @peppmvb. Get all the most recent schedules, results and more on www.PepperdineWaves.com.
OPPONENTS — Missouri S&T has began their season this weekend at the Asics Invitational, going 0-3 in the matches. All against ranked opponents, the Miners were unable to gain a set-point, but went into extended sets against #16 UC Santa Barbara. The Miners are in their third season as a program, and went 10-12 overall during the 2024 season.
LAST TIME OUT — At the North American Challenge last weekend, Pepperdine went undefeated, sweeping all three of their opponents in straight sets. Against Trinity Western, the Waves led in most areas throughout, posting 32 kills on a .383 clip, while allowing 27 kills on a .060 output to Trinity Western. The Waves also led with 10 blocks, as opposed to the Spartan's two, while also leading with 18 digs, and 30 assists compared to Trinity Western's 13 and 26, respectively. George Dyer tabbed six kills with a .667 hitting percentage, also adding three digs, two blocks, and two assists. Ryan Barnett earned Player of the Match status after posting 13 kills with a .435 success rate, six digs, two blocks, and an ace. Will Whidden led the Malibu Roofing Co. with five blocks, including one solo denial.
Against Saskatchewan, Pepperdine kept the Huskies to a .041 success rate and led the match in kills (30), assists (28), and service aces (8), as opposed to the opposition's 24 kills, 22 assists, and one service ace. Jacob Reilly earned the Player of the Match nod after an error-less match, posting two digs, 16 serve receptions, and an assist. Cole Hartke led the attacking efforts for Pepperdine, adding 10 kills with a .304 hitting percentage, while also tabbing two blocks and a service ace.
Intheir last match against the University of Calgary, the Waves led the match with 41 kills, 38 assists, 11 service aces, and six blocks, as opposed to the Dino's 36 kills, 36 assists, two service aces, and two blocks. Throughout the match, the Waves collectively posted an impressive .465 hitting percentage, led by Player of the Match, Hartke, who tabbed 15 kills on a .591 clip. Hartke also added four digs, two blocks, and one service ace to help Pepperdine secure the sweep. Gabe Dyer led playmaking for the squad, tallying 34 assists as well as two kills, a dig, and a block. James Eadie led the squad in blocks, adding three, with one being a solo rejection, Eadie also tabbed six kills on nine attempts, one dig, and an assist.
ROSTER NUMBERS — The Waves are returning 11 players this season, including five starters, while also adding 15 new faces to the squad. MPSF Freshman of the Year, Ethan Watson, returns for Pepperdine after coming in second on the team for total blocks, posting 74 throughout his 60 sets played. Outside hitter, Ryan Barnett, ranked in the top five in three separate statistical categories for the team last season, including posting 200 kills, 82 digs, and 14 service aces throughout his 80 sets played. Sophomore setter, Ryan Graves, is also returning for his second year after leading the team in assists as the key playmaker for Pepperdine last season. Graves posted 596 assists 18 kills, and five service aces during the 2024 season.
MPSF PRESEASON POLL — In the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's preseason poll, the Waves came in fourth place after a 5-7 overall conference record last season.
FRESH FACES — Pepperdine has 15 newcomers this season, including 11 freshmen and four transfers. Outside hitter, Cole Hartke joins the Waves as a three-time JVA All-American, Volleyball Magazine All-American, member of the U21 Men's National Team, and won gold this season at the Norceca Pan-Am Championship. Outside, Jose Gomez also joins the squad after having international experience playing with Cuba's U19 and U21 National teams, playing in three Norceca Pan-Am Cups. Joining the Waves in January is freshman Grant Lamoureux who served as the captain for the U19 National Indoor Team this summer at the Norceca Continental Championship, helping the team capture a gold medal. He is a two-time AAU All-American and a three-time JVA All-American, and in the sand placed ninth at the Beach 2024 U19 World Championships in China. The Waves' transfer crew includes graduate student brothers George and Gabe Dyer who came to Pepperdine after playing for UC San Diego and USC, respectively. Jacob Reilly joins Pepperdine from Concordia University Irvine, after playing two seasons as a libero for the Golden Eagles.
2024 SEASON — Pepperdine concluded the 2024 campaign ranked #10 in the country. The Waves went 17-11 overall and finished fifth in the MPSF regular season after tallying a 5-7 league record. The Waves faced Stanford in the MPSF Tournament, falling in the first round.
WINDER AT THE HELM — Pepperdine all-time great Jonathan Winder - an NCAA champion and former national player of the year - was hired to lead the Waves in 2023 and will begin his third season in 2025. He is the ninth head coach in the storied history of the Waves' men's volleyball program and debuted with a 16-14 record last season. He most recently served as the head coach of the Fresno State women's indoor volleyball program for the previous four seasons. He had also spent time as an assistant coach for the Washington women's volleyball team, helping lead the Huskies to a 105-21 record in three seasons, back-to-back Pac-12 championships, and consecutive Elite Eight appearances in 2015 and 2016. Winder spent the 2014 season in Malibu as an assistant for the Pepperdine after playing professionally in France, Germany, Greece and Romania and spending 2007-12 as a member of the U.S. National Team.
COACHES — Returning for his fifth season as an associate head coach, Matthew Pollock will rejoin the sidelines for the Waves. With Pollock on the staff, the Waves advanced to the NCAA Tournament and finished with a #5 ranking in both 2021 and 2022. Pollock played for the Waves from 2009-12 and was a starter middle blocker in his final two seasons, earning All-MPSF honors as a senior. He played professionally in Finland, Switzerland, Portugal, Italy and Germany. Luke Reynolds joined the Waves' sideline this summer after serving as a head coach for the University of Charleston's program. He also was recently hired as Team USA's collegiate national men's team assistant coach in 2024. While with the Golden Eagles for three seasons, Reynolds led the team to 44 wins and a .543 winning percentage. He garnered EIVA Coach of the Year in 2023 after leading the program to a 22-7 record with a 14-match winning streak to open the season. That year, the team entered the AVCA national coaches polls for the first time in program history. Will Craft also joined the staff as an assistant in July 2023, bringing a wealth of playing and coaching experience at both the professional and collegiate levels. He most recently served as the head men's coach at Dominican (DIII) and was named Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year. He was an All-American at Carthage before playing with SVG
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 18 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, three times (most recently in 2011-12). 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 #75 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
