MALIBU, Calif. — Taking its first West Coast Conference road trip of the season, the Pepperdine women's volleyball team squares off against San Francisco on Thursday at 6 p.m.
From here, the Waves (7-6, 1-1 WCC) wrap up their road trip at Santa Clara on Saturday at noon. All West Coast Conference matches will be livestreamed on ESPN+, which requires a subscription. Live stream and live stat links can be found on the women's volleyball team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
MATCH NOTES
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Pepperdine takes its first West Coast Conference road trip to the Bay Area, starting with a match against San Francisco on Thursday at 6 p.m.
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From here, the Waves head to face Santa Clara on Saturday at noon. After that match, the Waves have one week to prepare for a key home match against Washington State.
LAST TIME OUT
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Pepperdine bounced back from a four-set loss to San Diego by sweeping the Seattle Redhawks in the first-ever West Coast Conference meeting between the two schools.
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The Waves' block was dominant in the sweep, giving Pepperdine 11.0 total blocks to Seattle's 3.0. Tristen Raymond had four blocks — including three solos — while Irelynd Lorenzen matched her with four blocks to lead the Waves.
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Middle blockers Ella Piskorz and Vanessa Polk led the Waves with eight kills apiece. Piskorz tied her career high with three service aces, all three of which came midway through set three as the Waves ran away with the match.
AWESOME ARIZONANS
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Stepping into a bigger role as a sophomore, Chandler, Ariz. native Maggie Beauer is second on the team with 115 total kills, averaging 2.80 per set. She has recorded double-figure kills in six matches.
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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 4.98 assists per set, is third in service aces per set (0.33), fourth in blocks per set (0.64) and third in digs per set (2.31). 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
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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. 12 with 5.08 per set, while McGhie is No. 17 with 3.94 per set).
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Both women have finished in double figures in 11 of the 13 matches this season.
O CANADA
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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.
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Her 55 block assists and 60 total blocks lead the WCC, while her 1.25 blocks per set rank second.
STAY IN YOUR LAINE
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Junior libero Laine Briggs is one of the best servers in the country, as her 21 total aces rank No. 54 in all of Division I and first in the WCC. Her 0.48 aces per set leads the WCC.
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She tied her career-high with four aces against Jacksonville, which is her seventh match with multiple aces this year.
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Briggs also leads the team and ranks ninth among all WCC players with 3.31 digs per set.
GOING BACK TO CALI
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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 1.09 blocks per set, which ranks eighth in the WCC.
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Lorenzen is also tied for fifth in the WCC with 40 block assists and tied for sixth with 48 total blocks.
SOLID SCHEDULING
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At the end of non-conference play, Pepperdine's non-conference schedule ranked No. 35 in the nation in terms of opponents' combined win percentage.
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The Waves' strength of schedule currently ranks tied for No. 30 in the nation, as their opponents have a combined win percentage of .635.
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Using that same metric, the Waves are second in the WCC (LMU is No. 15) and eighth among all mid-major schools.
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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
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The Waves have a commanding 72-8 lead in the all-time series. Pepperdine has won nine of the last 10 matches against San Francisco.
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Last year, the Waves swept the season series against the Dons.
SCOUTING THE DONS
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San Francisco aims to snap a seven-match losing streak with its first WCC win this week. The Dons fell in five sets to Gonzaga before getting swept by Washington State last week.
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Setter Andrea Fabikovicová is one of the best freshmen setters in the league, ranking sixth with 6.89 assists per set and 303 total assists. Libero Abby Wadas ranks third in the league with 3.62 digs per set.
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The Dons rank third with 114 total blocks, which is just four shy of the Waves. Arizona State transfer Hokulani Perez leads the way with 1.10 blocks per set, which ranks sixth in the WCC.
SEASON OVERVIEW
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In Scott Wong's eleventh season at the helm, the Pepperdine Waves were 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 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.
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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
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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.
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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.
