SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team wraps up its first West Coast Conference road swing against Santa Clara Saturday at 1 p.m.

After the Waves (8-6, 2-1 WCC) face the Broncos (6-7, 1-2 WCC), the Waves will have one week off before taking on Washington State at home next Saturday. All West Coast Conference matches will be livestreamed on ESPN+, which requires a subscription. Live stream and live stat links can be found on the women's volleyball team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.

LAST TIME OUT

• Pepperdine swept San Francisco on Thursday for its first WCC road win.

• The Waves trailed 18-7 in the first set but came back to win 25-23, which was their biggest comeback of the season. They held off a USF run to win the second set 25-23 before putting the Dons in the rear-view mirror with a 25-14 third-set win.

• Outside hitters Maggie Beauer and Chloe Pravednikov led the way with 16 and 13 kills, respectively. Beauer was one kill shy of tying her career high of 17, which she set in a five-set match against UCSB earlier this season.

• Pepperdine showed off its strong serving by outnumbering the Dons nine aces to one. Tristen Raymond led with three service aces, while Emma McMahon, Brynne McGhie and Ella Piskorz finished with two aces apiece.

• Both of the Waves' setters finished with double-doubles. Raymond had 18 assists and 10 digs, while McGhie led the way with 20 assists to go along with 10 digs.

AWESOME ARIZONANS

• Stepping into a bigger role as a sophomore, Chandler, Ariz. native Maggie Beauer is second on the team with 134 total kills, averaging 2.85 per set. She has recorded double-figure kills in seven matches.

• Peoria, Ariz. native Tristen Raymond has given the Waves a spark as a do-it-all setter who helps Pepperdine run an effective 6-2 offense. Raymond ranks in Pepperdine's top five in nearly every statistical category: The lefty leads Pepperdine with 5.14 assists per set, is second in service aces per set (0.39), third in blocks per set (0.73) and second in digs per set (2.31). Earlier against Sacramento State, she was the first Wave to record five service aces in a match since Grace Chillingworth did so in 2023.

IT TAKES TWO

• Needing to replace a starting setter from last year, setters Brynne McGhie and Tristen Raymond have stepped in to give the Waves an effective 6-2 offense. Both McGhie and Raymond rank in the WCC's top 20 in assists per set (Raymond is No. 12 with 5.12 per set, while McGhie is No. 17 with 4.10 per set).

• Both women have finished in double figures in 12 of the 14 matches this season.

O CANADA

• Sophomore middle blocker Ella Piskorz is picking up where she left off last season as one of the best young middle blockers in the nation. She ranks No. 33 in the NCAA with 65 total blocks.

• Her 60 block assists and 65 total blocks lead the WCC, while her 1.27 blocks per set rank second.

STAY IN YOUR LAINE

• Junior libero Laine Briggs is one of the best servers in the country, as her 23 total aces rank No. 63 in all of Division I and first in the WCC. Her 0.45 aces per set leads the WCC.

• She tied her career-high with four aces against Jacksonville, which is her ninth match with multiple aces this year.

• Briggs also leads the team and ranks seventh among all WCC players with 3.37 digs per set.

GOING BACK TO CALI

• San Diego native Irelynd Lorenzen has been a key piece for Pepperdine's block during her first year of playing collegiate volleyball in her home state. The Lafayette transfer is second on the team with 1.04 blocks per set, which ranks 10th in the WCC.

• Lorenzen is also tied for eighth in the WCC with 40 block assists and 10th with 48 total blocks.

SOLID SCHEDULING 

• At the end of non-conference play, Pepperdine's non-conference schedule ranked No. 35 in the nation in terms of opponents' combined win percentage.

• The Waves' strength of schedule currently ranks tied for No. 30 in the nation, as their opponents have a combined win percentage of .635

• Using that same metric, the Waves are second in the WCC (LMU is No. 15) and eighth among all mid-major schools.

• Pepperdine is the only WCC team to face two top-10 programs in non-conference play (No. 9 Pitt and No. 8 Arizona State).

SERIES HISTORY

• The Waves have a commanding 54-33 lead in the all-time series.

• Pepperdine has won the last 14 meetings against Santa Clara, dropping just seven sets in that span.

SCOUTING THE BRONCOS

• Picked to finish ninth in the Preseason WCC Coaches' Poll, the Broncos are 6-7 and well on their way to surpassing last season's 11 wins. The Broncos are looking to snap a two-match losing skid against Pepperdine.

• The Broncos' offense ranks No. 41 in the NCAA with 678 assists per set, No. 42 in kills with 728 and No. 94 with 87 total service aces. Sophomore setter Macy Hinshaw helps run the offense with 9.70 assists per set, which ranks No. 45 in Division I

• Santa Clara has two accurate middle blockers in Layla Truitt and Grace Flanagan, who rank seventh and eighth, respectively in hitting percentage. Truitt averages 2.30 kills per set while hitting .311, while Flanagan, despite not being used as much in the offense, averages 1.63 kills per set while hitting .307.

SEASON OVERVIEW

• In Scott Wong's eleventh season at the helm, the Pepperdine Waves were picked second in the WCC Preseason Coaches' poll behind San Diego and ahead of LMU. The top three teams in the poll were the last three teams to win the WCC title.

• Pepperdine also put three players on the WCC Preseason Team: redshirt junior Vanessa Polk, sophomore Ella Piskorz and Bradley transfer Iva Popovic, who was one of three conference newcomers to make the team.

• Pepperdine has ten returners but brings back just one starter from last year: middle blocker Ella Piskorz. However, fellow middle blocker Vanessa Polk, who was a key piece on Pepperdine's 2023 WCC Championship squad, will return after redshirting in 2024. Sophomore opposite hitter Chloe Pravednikov, an All-WCC Freshman Team selection from a year ago, worked her way into the starting rotation late last season and will be expected to have a larger role this season. 

NEW WAVES

• The Waves also welcome six newcomers to the team, consisting of three transfers and three true freshmen. Junior middle blocker Irelynd Lorenzen and sophomore setter Nalani Muniz are both returning to their home state after competing for Lafayette and Southern Utah, respectively. Iva Popovic also comes to Malibu by way of Bradley University and New Mexico Junior College, where she was a two-time NJCAA All-American.

• Pepperdine's three freshmen are Ryan Gilhooly (Pacific Palisades, Calif.), Tristen Raymond (Peoria, Ariz.) and Alice Vigano (Lake Como, Italy).

• For the first time under Scott Wong, the Waves feature three international players on the roster: Ella Piskorz (Canada), Iva Popovic (Serbia) and Alice Vigano (Italy).

THE MOUNTAIN AT MULLIN PARK

• The Mountain at Mullin Park will become the new home for Pepperdine's basketball and volleyball programs in 2026. The 3,600-seat arena will give Pepperdine a state-of-the-art competition venue, complete with a 360-degree high-definition scoreboard, VIP and hospitality spaces, and custom team locker rooms. The facility will improve the experience for student-athletes and provide fans with one of the premier indoor collegiate environments on the West Coast. Connected to the arena is a three-story, 45,000-square-foot student center that will house the University's RISE Institute along with a broad range of wellness and recreation amenities.

• Construction reached a major milestone with the topping-out ceremony in May 2025, marking the completion of the arena's highest structural point. Following interior build-out and finishing, Pepperdine men's and women's basketball teams are expected to be the first teams to compete in the new arena beginning the 2026-27 season.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

Pepperdine women's volleyball has reached 26 NCAA Tournaments since 1981 as one of the most successful collegiate programs on the West Coast. The 12-time WCC Champions Waves have consistently produced top talent with 21 All-American selections with honorees in six straight decades. With multiple Olympians going through the program, Kim Hill brought home the program's first gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games.