Waves Set for the Battle 4 L.A.

Friday, February 28

Los Angeles, Calif.

12:00 p.m. PT

Pepperdine University

USC

Photo by: James Hanson

2/27/2025 10:29:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball

By: By Athletic Communications

MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine beach volleyball team is set to play four games at the Battle 4 L.A. in Los Angeles, California on Friday and Saturday. Highlighting the weekend slate, Pepperdine will take on the four-time defending national champions #3 USC and top-ranked UCLA. The Waves will also face off against Concordia and CSUN this weekend.

The tournament will be held at USC's Merle Norman Stadium as well as the UCLA Mapes Beach courts and will be co-hosted by the two schools. Entrance is free to all fans at both venues.

DUAL #5 — Pepperdine (1-3) at #3 USC (4-2) | Friday, Feb. 28 | 12 p.m. | B1G+ | Stats | Merle Norman Stadium | Los Angeles, Calif.

DUAL #6 — Pepperdine vs. Concordia (3-1) | Friday, Feb. 28 | 2 p.m. | B1G+ | Stats | Merle Norman Stadium | Los Angeles, Calif.

DUAL #7 — Pepperdine at #1 UCLA (5-1) | Saturday, Feb. 29 | 10 a.m. | Stats | Mapes Beach | Los Angeles, Calif.

DUAL #8 — Pepperdine vs. CSUN (2-0) | Saturday, Feb. 29 | 2 p.m. | Stats | Mapes Beach | Los Angeles, Calif.

#3 USC — The Waves are 13-20 all-time against the four-time defending national champions, and they're 3-7 against them on the road. Pepperdine's last win against USC came in 2019. This season, the Trojans are 4-2 and have picked up ranked wins against TCU, UCLA, Arizona State and Hawaii.

CONCORDIA — Pepperdine is a perfect 7-0 all-time against Concordia, having swept the Golden Eagles in five of the seven duals. Concordia is 3-1 on the year with wins against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, New Orleans and UAB.

#1 UCLA — The Waves are 6-13 all-time in dual matches against the Bruins. Pepperdine won six of the first nine matchups between the schools, but the Waves last win against the Bruins came in 2018. UCLA is 5-1 on the year with ranked wins coming against TCU, Stanford, LMU, Arizona State and Hawaii.

CSUN — Pepperdine is 5-0 all time against CSUN, having swept them four times. The Matadors are 2-0 this year and have defeated Hope International and Cal State LA.

LIVE COVERAGE — All Pepperdine games will have live scoring available with links found on the beach volleyball schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com. Friday's contests at USC will be streamed on Big Ten Plus (subscription required) and links to the streams can be found on the beach volleyball schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.

WAVES WEATHER — Friday is forecasted to have a high of 67 degrees and wind speeds will be 2-8 mph with gusts up to 18 mph. Saturday's weather will be similar with a high of 66 degrees and wind speeds of 2-7 mph, while gusts will be 14 mph.

LAST TIME OUT — The Waves opened the 2025 campaign with a 1-3 record at the Pepperdine Challenge in Malibu, California last weekend. On Friday, Pepperdine swept Vanguard in the opening dual of the year before falling 2-3 to CSU Bakersfield later that day. The win against Vanguard was head coach Marcio Sicoli's 100th career win at the helm of the Waves.

The Waves were then swept by #9 California and fell to #10 Long Beach State 1-4 on Saturday. Freshman Emma Eden and graduate Ella Foti highlighted the weekend with a two-set win in the No. 3 slot against #10 LBSU 21-19, 21-12.

WAVE REPORT — Pepperdine returns six players from the 2024 squad, including five Waves who started in the WCC Tournament. Of the familiar faces, the Waves welcome back seniors Kate Clermont, McKenna Thomas and Madison Oriskovich as well as juniors Emma Bubelis, Emi Erickson and Gabriella Perez. New faces will include graduate transfer Ella Foti and Marley Johnson, transfers Bella Avelar, Kenzi McSpadden and Deanie Woodruff and freshman Emma Eden, Tippi Lane and Marta Vildere.

PRESEASON PROJECTIONS — Seniors Kate Clermont and McKenna Thomas as well as junior Gabriella Perez all earned spots on the All-WCC preseason team, while the Waves were picked to finish second in the West Coast Conference preseason poll.

LOOKING AHEAD — The Waves will host the Malibu Invite on March 14-15 and will take on Morehead State, Sacramento State and UTEP over the two days of competition.

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 20 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, four times (most recently in 2022-23). 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 #80 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.

FOLLOW — Follow @WavesBeachVB on Facebook and X for immediate updates, results and more. Go to PepperdineWaves.com for all information, releases and schedules. Find the Waves on Instagram @peppbeachvolley.