MALIBU, Calif. — After falling in a five-set thriller against No.1 Long Beach State, Pepperdine will host two matches against ranked opponents this week, No.7 Loyola Chicago and No.12 Lewis.
MATCH #5 — Thursday (Jan. 30) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: #10 Pepperdine (3-1, 0-0 MPSF) vs. #7 Loyola Chicago (6-0, 0-0 MIVA) at 7 p.m.
MATCH #6 — Saturday (Feb. 1) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: #10 Pepperdine (3-1, 0-0 MPSF) vs. #12 Lewis (6-1, 0-0 MIVA) at 1 p.m.
COVERAGE – All home and MPSF matches will be streamed on B1G+ all season, links can be found at
https://pepperdinewaves.com.
UP NEXT — Pepperdine will host #16 CSUN (Feb. 8) and Dominican University New York (Feb.9) for a pair of matches next week 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 — Loyola Chicago currently stands at No.7 in the polls this week after having a 6-0 start to the season. The Ramblers opened their season against then-ranked, #8 Penn State and took the match in four sets. In the national ranks, Loyola ranks second in aces per set (2.62), fifth in hitting percentage (.371), and ninth in kills per set (12.76). Loyola leads the all-time series, 2-1, with the two most recent meetings resulting in Ramblers victories with a five-set match in 2019 then a 3-0 sweep in Malibu in 2018. Their first-ever meeting was a 3-2 win at Loyola in 2017.
Lewis is another nationally-ranked team, coming in at No.12 in the AVCA polls this week. The Flyers went to four sets with No.1 Long Beach State, taking set one. Lewis currently ranks third in assists per set (12.46), sixth in hitting percentage (.371), and seventh in digs per set(9.79), nationally. Lewis also has the top setter in the country, who leads the national rankings in assists per set, with 11.14. Pepperdine leads the series all-time, 5-3, with their last meeting in 2023 resulting in a 3-1 Waves win.
LAST TIME OUT — In a five-set match with the No.1 team in the country, Pepperdine picked up two set wins, but could not finish off the match, falling to Long Beach State, 3-2.
The Waves posted 14-25, 26-24, 25-18, and 7-15 set scores against the Beach. Service errors plagued Long Beach and Pepperdine as a team, with the opposition dropping 24 points to service errors compared to the Waves' 16. Middle blockers
James Eadie and
Ethan Watson led the attack, posting nine and 10 kills each on a .667 and .625 success rate, respectively. Freshman
Cole Hartke also tabbed 14 kills throughout five sets, while also adding two blocks and a service ace. Setter
Gabe Dyer had a stellar night on playmaking duties, posting 37 assists, six digs, five kills, and one block.
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.
