SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Pepperdine beach volleyball (13-9) heads north for two days of action against conference foes from the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. The midseason West Coast Challenge begins Friday morning with a doubleheader against Portland (4-11) at 10 a.m. and Santa Clara (10-7) at 2 p.m.
The Waves' Saturday opponents are yet to be determined. No. 8 LMU, Pacific, Saint Mary's, and San Francisco are part of the potential pool.
"We are ready to battle some fellow WCC schools during this mid-season invitational," said head coach Marcio Sicoli. "It should be two days of competition at the highest level. Our team is excited about the possibility of facing teams from the Bay or LMU again."
The Waves hosted the ASICS Classic last week. Sweeps over Vanguard and Concordia gave Pepperdine a pair of wins. They dropped their face-off against Tulane, 3-2 and versus Loyola Marymount, 4-1. Emma Eden and Michaela Cyrani went 3-1 on the weekend, notably earning a hard-fought win over the crosstown Lions in three sets. Flights two and four were both successful over Tulane.
The second flight of Gabbie Perez and Maddy Snow sport Team 15's best overall match record at 17-5. Eden and Cyrani follow at 15-7 from the first slot. Emi Erickson and Ginevra Merlini (who typically compete in the fourth flight) have picked up a 13-9 season mark.
There will be no Live Stats available during the invitational, but results will be posted on Instagram, X, and the schedule page immediately following each match.
DUAL 1: Pepperdine vs. Portland | Friday, March 27 | 10 a.m.
DUAL 2: Pepperdine vs. Santa Clara | Friday, March 27 | 2 p.m.
DUAL 3: Pepperdine vs. TBD | Saturday, March 28 | TBD
DUAL 4: Pepperdine vs. TBD | Saturday, March 28 | TBD
Portland is 0-3 all-time versus Pepperdine. All three match-ups have been contested at neutral sites and all three have been Wave sweeps.
The orange and blue hold a 7-1 advantage in their series with the Broncos. Like their history with the Pilots, each game has been played at a venue other than the school's campus. The Waves won seven straight before falling 3-2 last year.
Next weekend Pepperdine travels to the Gulf Coast for two days of doubleheaders in the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Tournament. The Waves will rematch against Cal State Bakersfield, face the host Islanders, and square-off against ULM and Tarleton State.
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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