MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team heads to Pittsburgh, Pa. for its lone East Coast trip of the season to face the No. 9 Pitt Panthers and the Jacksonville Dolphins on Sept. 5 and 6.
The Waves face off against the No. 9 Pitt Panthers on Friday, Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. PT before taking on the Jacksonville Dolphins on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 2 p.m. PT. Both matches will be live-streamed on the ACC Network Extra on the ESPN+ app, which requires a paid subscription. All schedule updates can be found on the women's volleyball team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
This weekend, Pepperdine will look for its first win over a top-10 team since beating No. 6 Minnesota on Sept. 15, 2022. The 2022 season was also the last time the Waves upset multiple ranked programs in a single season. Pitt is the first of two top-10 teams the Waves are scheduled to face this year (the other is No. 7 Arizona State).
LAST TIME OUT
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Pepperdine upset the No. 19 team in the nation, UCLA, in four sets during the home opener on Tuesday night. It was not only the team's first win over a ranked opponent since 2022, but also the first over the Bruins since 2011. The Waves never trailed in two of the three sets they won.
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Offensively, sophomore Maggie Beauer led the team with 13 kills. Freshman setter Tristen Raymond flirted with a quadruple-double, finishing with 22 assists, eight total blocks, eight kills and nine digs. On defense, libero Laine Briggs tied her career high with 17 digs and finished with a career-high six assists.
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The Pepperdine block was the story of the night, as the Waves went toe-to-toe with a Power-4 block and came out victorious. Pepperdine had 12.0 total blocks to UCLA's 10.0. Aside from Raymond's team-leading eight blocks, sophomore Ella Piskorz had seven and Irelynd Lorenzen had five total blocks, including two solos.
AWESOME ARIZONANS
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Stepping into a bigger role as a sophomore, Chandler, Ariz. native Maggie Beauer leads the Waves with 52 total kills, averaging 3.25 per set. She has recorded double-figure kills in all four matches and led the Waves in three. Her 3.25 kills per set also ranks ninth in the West Coast Conference.
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Peoria, Ariz. native Tristen Raymond has given the Waves a new dimension 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 4.88 assists per set, is second in service aces per set (0.44), third in blocks per set (0.75) and third in digs per set (2.00). Earlier this year against Sacramento State, she was the first Wave to record five service aces since 2023.
SERIES HISTORY
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
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An NCAA Semifinal team from a year ago, the No. 9 Pitt Panthers return AVCA National Player of the Year Olivia Babcock and All-American middle blocker Bre Kelley to a highly anticipated 2025 season.
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Bolstering the nation's No. 30-ranked blocking defense, Kelley averages 5.75 blocks per game, which ranks 23rd nationally. On offense, Babcock leads the charge with 4.44 kills per set, while Brooke Mosher — in her first year running the Pitt offense — averages 8.81 assists per set.
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The Panthers bring in plenty of fresh faces this season, including four freshmen and a trio of transfers: Emery Dupes (Florida State), Sophie Gregorie (Oregon) and Brooke Mosher (Illinois). So far, freshman outside hitter Dagmar Mouritis leads all newcomers on the squad with 2.20 kills per set, which ranks third on the team.
SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS
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Picked to finish fifth in the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll, the Jacksonville Dolphins are led by senior outside hitter Breanna McDonough, who was the lone Dolphin to earn All-Atlantic Sun Preseason Honors. Last year, she ranked second in the ASUN with 3.92 kills per set, which leads all ASUN returners this season. Currently, fifth-year outside hitter Madi Novak leads the team with 3.11 kills per set.
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Sophomore middle blocker Haley Yount ranks second for the Dolphins with 2.9 kills and 1.5 blocks per set. She was the ASUN Player and Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Dolphins go 2-1 at the Crimson Tide Invitational against UAB, Alabama and UNC Asheville.
SEASON OVERVIEW
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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.
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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.
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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
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The Waves also welcome six newcomers to the team, consisting of three transfers and five 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. Pepperdine's three freshmen are Ryan Gilhooly (Pacific Palisades, Calif.), Tristen Raymond (Peoria, Ariz.) and Alice Vigano (Lake Como, Italy).
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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 elevate 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.
