MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine men's volleyball team will travel to Long Beach to play a slate of three exhibition matches this week. The Waves will play Trinity Western University and Saskatchewan on Friday at 12 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., respectively. A match against the University of Calgary on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. will round out the weekend.
MATCH #1 — Friday (January 3) at The Gold Mine in Long Beach, Calif.: Pepperdine (0-0) vs. Trinity Western (14-3, 7-3 CW) at noon PT | Exhibition
MATCH #2 — Friday (January 3) at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif.: Pepperdine (0-0) vs. Saskatchewan (11-7, 6-4 CW) at 4:00 p.m. PT | Exhibition
MATCH #3 — Saturday (January 4) at The Gold Mine in Long Beach, Calif.: Pepperdine (0-0) vs. University of Calgary (7-7, 5-5 CW) at 2:00 p.m. PT | Exhibition
COVERAGE – Matches will not be live streamed all weekend, but live stats can be found at https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=lbst
2025 NORTH AMERICAN CHALLENGE — With the 2025 season right around the corner, the Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team will host the North American Challenge, a preseason exhibition tournament which will feature a total of six teams from the United States and Canada. The event will run from Friday, Jan. 3-Saturday, Jan. 4 with five matches being played on day one and four taking place on day two. The tournament will be held in both the Walter Pyramid and the Gold Mine.
The participating teams include some of the top talent in North America such as No. 2 Trinity Western, No. 6 Saskatchewan, Calgary, No. 10 Pepperdine, No. 18 UC San Diego, and host, No. 2 Long Beach State.
UP NEXT — The Waves will open up the regular season with a slate of home matches against Merrimack (Jan. 10), FDU (Jan.12), and Missouri S&T (Jan. 13).
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 — All three Canadian squads are amidst their regular seasons. Trinity Western is currently 14-3 overall, with their three losses occurring in conference play. The squad averages 11.3 kills, 10.7 assists, and 2.1 blocks per set while also posting a .262 hitting percentage. Saskatchewan is 11-7 on the season, tabbing 11.9 kills, on a .279 clip while also adding 11.4 assists and 2.0 blocks per set. The University of Calgary is an even 7-7 on the season, averaging 9.6 kills per set on a .228 success rate while tallying 9.1 assists, 2.2 blocks, and 1.1 aces per set.
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.
