MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine beach volleyball (1-3) will travel a short distance to face four local rivals over the course of two days. Their first test begins Friday downtown against CSUN (0-1) before facing No. 4 and location host, USC (4-2). The following day the Waves head to Westwood in a neutral rematch against No. 11 Long Beach State (2-0) before concluding at No. 2 UCLA (3-2).
The Waves compete at noon and 2 p.m. on each day of action.
DUAL 1: Pepperdine vs. CSUN | Friday, Feb. 27 | 12 p.m.
DUAL 2: Pepperdine at No. 4 USC | Friday, Feb. 27 | 2 p.m.
DUAL 3: Pepperdine vs. No. 11 Long Beach State| Saturday, Feb. 28 | 12 p.m.
DUAL 4: Pepperdine at. No. 2 UCLA | Saturday, Feb. 28 | 2 p.m.
"SoCal is the birthplace of beach volleyball, and Pepperdine one of the earliest adopters and developers of it as a collegiate sport," said head coach Marcio Sicoli. "This weekend it'll be the best of the best of these NCAA pioneers going against one another. We're very excited and going to take it all in. As one of the programs there at the beginning we want to fight back for our position at the top of the sport."
Pepperdine opened the 2026 season last weekend at home in the annual Pepperdine Challenge. The season started strong with a 5-0 sweep of Vanguard, in which no Wave flights needed a deciding third set. They next faced the Washington Huskies back-to-back. Both contests were close, but the blue and orange fell 2-3 and 1-4, respectively. A sweep at the hands of Long Beach State concluded the weekend.
Gabbie Perez and Maddy Snow held things down at the second flight, posting a 3-1 record on the weekend. The pairs of Michaela Cyrani and Emma Eden, Emi Erickson and Ginvera Merlini, and duo Emma Bubelis and Deanie Woodruff all picked up wins against the Lions. The freshman duo of Sonia Mancuso and Alice Jagielska went 2-0 on day one.
Pepperdine sports a 6-0 historic record against the Matadors. CSUN and the blue and orange faced each other last season in a 3-2 Waves win.
The Trojans lead the series 21 to 13. Pepperdine last defeated USC in 2019, a season that saw the two schools face one another four separate times.
Long Beach State already has rapport with the Waves this season. The schools matched up last weekend in what was a 5-0 Beach sweep. The overall record now stands at 25-9, advantage Pepperdine.
The Bruins of Westwood were last defeated by the blue and orange in 2018. Since then, UCLA has won eleven straight, to add to their 14-6 all-time record.
LiveStats are available for each match, with links provided above. Competition on day one will be streamed by USC for B1G+ subscribers here.
After spending the nascent season close to home, Pepperdine adjusts to island time for the Hawai'i Tournament next week. The Waves will face six schools across four days in Honolulu, Hawaii starting Thursday.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Established in 2011, Pepperdine beach volleyball quickly rose to national prominence, winning two national championships in three years (2012, 2014) while reaching the final four in five of its first six seasons. Joining the WCC ahead of the 2016 season with the sport becoming NCAA-sanctioned, the Waves won the inaugural and first three WCC Championships while reaching eight straight conference championship games from 2016-24. The program has consistently recruited top talent in the sport, with 21 student-athletes garnering All-American honors since 2012.
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