MALIBU, Calif. — After improving to 4-2, the Pepperdine men's volleyball team will continue to host opponents in Firestone Fieldhouse, with matches against #16 CSUN and Dominican NY this weekend.
MATCH #7 — Saturday (Feb. 8) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: #10 Pepperdine (4-2, 0-0 MPSF) vs. #16 CSUN (7-2, 0-0 Big West ) at 5 p.m.
MATCH #8 — Sunday (Feb. 9) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: #10 Pepperdine (4-2, 0-0 MPSF) vs. Dominican NY (1-4, 0-0 ECC) at 1 p.m. | Dig Pink Match
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 travel for their first regular-season match to #15 UC Santa Barbara on Feb.14 and then will host the Gauchos for a match on Feb.15 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.
HARTKE'S HITTING SETS RECORDS — Freshman,
Cole Hartke is already making his mark during his first season as a Wave. Against No. 7 Loyola Chicago, Hartke set an MPSF season-high of 27 points and 24 kills, also breaking his previous career record. Earlier in the season, Hartke broke a 20-year longstanding record for the highest hitting percentage in a single match, tabbing a .917 success rate on 11 kills.
WAVES IN THE MPSF RANKS — In one of the nation's most competitive men's volleyball conferences, Pepperdine is already making waves in the MPSF standings. As a team, the Waves stand second in hitting percentage, service aces, and opponent kills posting a .407, 2.18 per set, and only allowing 9.23 kills, respectively. While playing No. 7 Loyola Chicago,
Cole Hartke set an MPSF season-high of 27 points and 24 kills.
Gabe Dyer holds the season-high in assists during three-set matches, posting 35 against Lewis (2/1). Three Waves,
Ethan Watson,
James Eadie, and Dyer hold the top three spots for the season-high in hitting percentage during a three-set match.
OPPONENTS — CSUN currently stands at No.16 in the AVCA poll this week, after beginning their season going 7-2 overall. The Matadors lost in four sets to #3 UCLA and #6 USC but swept #20 George Mason in a match last week. In the national polls, the squad currently stands third in assists, with 12.31, and fifth in kills per set, posting 13.22. On average, CSUN posts 8.4 digs, 2.6 blocks, and 1.5 aces per set, also while hitting a .323 percentage. Saturday's match is the 87th meeting all-time between CSUN and Pepperdine, with their first meeting being in 1978. The Waves have won 65 of the previous 86 meetings including 34 of the 41 matches in Malibu.
Dominican has lost four straight matches since opening the season with a 3-0 win over Barry University. The Chargers are averaging 8.67 kills, 8.20 assists, 7.40 digs, and 1.93 service aces. This will be the first time that the Chargers and Waves face off.
LAST TIME OUT — It was a gritty back-and-forth match against No.7 Loyola Chicago to start the weekend, with the Waves posting 15-25, 23-25, 25-19, 31-29, and 12-15 set scores. Freshman,
Cole Hartke posted an MPSF season-high of 24 kills, on a .475 hitting percentage, leading the attack for Pepperdine, while also posting six digs and two blocks, including a solo denial. Setter,
Gabe Dyer led playmaking for the Waves, tabbing 35 assists, four digs, and a block.
James Eadie also tallied a team-high four blocks, along with five kills and two digs.
Against No.12 Lewis, Pepperdine swept the opposition in a comeback match to improve the Waves' record to 4-2. The Waves kept the Flyers to a .246 success rate, posting 25-21, 25-12, and 26-24 set scores. Pepperdine's offense was spread, with
Jose Gomez and Hartke having double-figure kills.
Ryan Barnett and
Ethan Watson were among the most efficient Waves, tabbing .615 and.778 hitting percentages with nine and seven kills, respectively. As a team, Pepperdine posted eight service aces, with four coming from
Gomez, and three from
Hartke.
Dyer led the playmaking for the afternoon, assisting on 35 kills while adding one of his own, and four digs.
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.
