MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team begins the West Coast Conference slate by hosting San Diego in a consequential match on Thursday at 6 p.m.

Thursday will be a throwback night and a women's volleyball alumni night for the Waves. Tickets can be purchased at this link. All West Coast Conference matches will be livestreamed on ESPN+, which requires a subscription. Live stat links can be found on the women's volleyball team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.

This opening night matchup will pit the top two teams in the Preseason WCC Coaches' Poll against one another. San Diego was picked to win the league in that poll, while Pepperdine narrowly finished second.

LAST TIME OUT

• Pepperdine wrapped up its stint in the Sun Devil Classic by sweeping Milwaukee last Saturday. The Waves went 1-2 in the three-match event; their losses were a five-setter to GCU and a three-set loss to No. 8 Arizona State.

• In the win against Milwaukee, Ella Piskorz tied her season high with 14 kills and led all players with six total blocks, most of which came in the latter two sets to help the Waves sweep the Panthers.

• Tristen Raymond finished with a career-high nine kills, 17 assists and a pair of service aces — her third time in four matches last week with multiple aces.

WAVES WIN WEEKLY WCC AWARDS

• Ella Piskorz and Tristen Raymond earned Pepperdine's first West Coast Conference weekly awards of the season on Sept. 22.

• Winning WCC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career, Piskorz led the team with 1.44 blocks per set and 23 total blocks in four matches last week. She tied her season high with eight total blocks and five digs, plus she had a season-high 14 kills against UCSB, then she tied her season high with 14 kills again against Milwaukee and led all players with six total blocks, which helped her earn Sun Devil Classic All-Tournament Team honors. Offensively, she finished with double-figure kills in three of the four matches, averaging 2.69 per set.

• Raymond set three career highs in four matches last week while leading the team with 4.94 assists per set. She had a 28-assist, 16-dig double-double against GCU last Thursday — both of which were career highs — then nearly had another double-double with a career-high nine kills and 17 assists in Pepperdine's win against Milwaukee.
   

AWESOME ARIZONANS

• Stepping into a bigger role as a sophomore, Chandler, Ariz. native Maggie Beauer leads the team with 115 total kills, averaging 2.80 per set. She has recorded double-figure kills in six 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: She leads Pepperdine with 4.93 assists per set, is second in service aces per set (0.37), third in blocks per set (0.66) and third in digs per set (2.24). Earlier this year 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. 13 with 4.93 per set, while McGhie is No. 17 with 4.02 per set).

• McGhie and Raymond have traded off being the primary setter in each match. McGhie is coming off her season-high with 28 assists in the win over UCSB, while Raymond recorded a career-high 28 assists last week against GCU.

• Both women have finished in double figures in nine of the 11 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. 39 in the NCAA with 54 total blocks.

• Her 50 block assists, 54 total blocks and 1.32 blocks per set are all the best in the WCC.

STAY IN YOUR LAINE

• Junior libero Laine Briggs is one of the best servers in the country, as her 20 total aces rank No. 54 in all of Division I and first in the WCC. Her 0.49 aces per set ranks second in the WCC.

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

• Briggs also leads the team and ranks ninth among all WCC players with 3.29 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 1.05 blocks per set, which ranks ninth in the WCC.

• Lorenzen is also eighth among all WCC players with 33 block assists and ninth with 39 total blocks.

SOLID SCHEDULING 

• Pepperdine's non-conference schedule ranks No. 35 in the nation in terms of opponents' combined win percentage. The Waves' non-conference opponents have a combined 68-42 record for a .618 win percentage.

• Using that same metric, the Waves' non-conference schedule is second in the WCC (LMU is No. 21) and tenth 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 46-38 advantage in the all-time series, with their last home win coming in 2023, which won the WCC title for Pepperdine.

• San Diego has won six of the last 10 matches against the Waves. USD swept Pepperdine last year.

SCOUTING THE TOREROS

• Picked to win the WCC, the Toreros bring back four all-conference honorees from a year ago: junior outside hitter Nemo Beach, sophomore outside hitter Isabel Clark, sophomore opposite Kennedy Osunsanmi and setter Kylie Munday. 

• Averaging 9.32 assists per set, 2024 Co-WCC Setter of the Year Kylie Munday helps the Toreros lead the WCC with 551 total assists, averaging 11.02 per set. Munday's 9.32 assists per set ranks second in the league and No. 71 in the nation, plus her 410 assists are the second-most in the WCC and rank No. 32 in the NCAA.

• Reigning WCC Offensive Player of the Week Nemo Beach is coming off a career-high 25 kills against UC San Diego last week. She leads the WCC with 183 total kills and is third with 3.66 per set.

SEASON OVERVIEW

• The Waves enter the eleventh season under head coach Scott Wong. Pepperdine was 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.