MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team was picked second in the West Coast Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, plus three Waves made the WCC Preseason Team, which was announced Wednesday.
The Waves earned two of the 12 possible first-place votes and finished with 107 points in the coaches' poll. San Diego led the way with 10 first-place votes for a total of 120 points, while LMU (97 points), Oregon State (86 points) and Washington State (86 points) rounded out the top five.
Individually, Ella Piskorz, Vanessa Polk and newcomer Iva Popovic gave the Waves three representatives on the WCC Preseason Team. Pepperdine's three selections were second only to USD, which had five players earn preseason honors.
Two of Pepperdine's three honorees have earned all-conference honors before. Last season, Piskorz put together one of the best debut seasons in recent memory: She made the WCC All-First Team and All-Freshman Team, plus she ranked fifth in the league by averaging 1.15 blocks per set. Polk was also named to the WCC All-Freshman team in 2022, plus she was an all-conference honorable mention selection in 2023.
A newcomer to Pepperdine, Popovic was one of three newcomers to the league who made the All-WCC Preseason Team. Popovic's reputation precedes her. The Serbian outside hitter was a two-time NJCAA All-American award winner and an All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team selection during her lone year at Bradley University. She will undoubtedly be called upon to fill the void left by All-WCC First Team selections Grace Chillingworth and Birdie Hendrickson from last season.
Head coach Scott Wong's squad aims to improve on last season's 17-11 record and third-place finish in the WCC. The Waves bring back 10 players from a year ago, including the aforementioned Piskorz and All-WCC Freshman Team selection Chloe Pravednikov.
This Saturday, Pepperdine will square off against USC in a road exhibition match that starts at 4 p.m. The Waves officially open their season against UC Davis in the Sacramento State Invitational on Friday, Aug. 29. All schedule updates can be found on the women's volleyball team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
2025 West Coast Conference Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
Team (first-place votes) points
1. San Diego (10) —120
2. Pepperdine (2) — 107
3. LMU — 97
T-4. Oregon State — 86
T-4. Washington State —86
6. Saint Mary's — 72
7. Pacific — 51
8. San Francisco — 50
9. Santa Clara — 44
10. Portland — 39
11. Gonzaga — 28
12. Seattle — 12
2025 West Coast Conference Volleyball Preseason Team
Genevieve Bane, Saint Mary's
Nemo Beach, San Diego
Lucie Blazková, Washington State
Isabel Clark, San Diego
Sjakkie Donkers, Gonzaga
Kali Engeman, San Diego
Grace Flanagan, Santa Clara
Annika Hester, Oregon State
Taina Kaauwai, Portland
Kylie Munday, San Diego
Kennedy Osunsanmi, San Diego
Ella Piskorz, Pepperdine
Vanessa Polk, Pepperdine
Iva Popovic, Pepperdine
Maui Robins, Portland
Lauren Rumel, Oregon State
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.
