Women's Volleyball Returns Home to Face Pacific

MALIBU, Calif. - The calendar will soon flip to October, and WCC action is in full throttle for Pepperdine women's volleyball, who are home this weekend to battle a pair of WCC foes.

The Waves welcome Pacific for a 6:00 pm pacific start on Thursday before welcoming Saint Mary's for a 1:00 pm pacific start on Saturday. Both contests can be seen live on ESPN+, and tickets are available to purchase for both matches here.

The first 75 students at both Thursday night's match (6pm) and Saturday's match (1pm) will receive a free Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich, courtesy of Chick-Fil-A Conejo Valley.

Get your tickets before it's too late!

🎟️ | https://t.co/4xSZzPBxqk https://t.co/Tvrx163a6c
— Pepperdine Women's Volleyball (@PepperdineWVB) October 1, 2026

On Saturday, it'll be a 'Flashback in Firestone' as the Waves are throwing it back to the '90s and early 2000s. Dance along to popular hits and come to the match in style with a '90s hairdo, or dress as a favorite TV show or movie character!

The Waves are on a roll right now, having won six consecutive matches. That streak matches the longest such since Pepperdine ripped off nine in a row at the tail end of last season. This season also marks the seventh time since 2018 (counting 2026, that's nine seasons) that the Waves have started 2-0 in conference play.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS

After 16 years at the helm, Greg Gibbons stepped down as Pacific's women's volleyball head coach on December 2, 2025.
That paved the way for Jeff Hendershot to be officially named head coach of the program on December 23, 2025.
Hendershot, in his seventh overall season as a women's volleyball head coach, graduated from Pacific in 2009, was a four-year letterwinner for the Pacific men's volleyball team from 2006-09, and was a Pacific men's volleyball assistant coach in 2014.
Austin Meador and Mario Meza were tabbed assistant coaches on March 11.
Alyson Cox and Logan Blutereich earned 2025 WCC All-Academic honors.
Freshman outside hitter Vanessa Zussino, a Udine, Italy native, posted a career-best 15 kills against Wyoming on Sept. 19.
Simi Valley, California native Nicole Zake ranks 8th in the WCC with 454 total attacks and 13th in the WCC with 143 kills
Sophomore Bella Gutierrez is one to watch on the defensive end, ranking 4th in the WCC with 206 digs

SUPER SUPERLATIVES

The Waves currently have their longest win streak (six matches) since a nine-match win streak from Oct. 11-Nov.8 last year.
Pepperdine has yet to lose a match when taking the first set.
The blue and orange have won seven of nine matches in which Pepperdine has fewer digs.
The victory over San Francisco last Saturday was the first win of the year following a first-set loss.

EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND

Junior setter Tristen Raymond ranks 2nd on the team with 103 digs, which is also 25th in the West Coast Conference.
Her 478 assists lead the team, rank 3rd in the WCC, and 45th in the country

PUTTING THE 'SPECIAL' IN DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST

Defensive specialist Laine Briggs was absolutely sensational a couple of weekends ago, setting a career-high and a new Bluejay Invitational-best in digs with 35.
Her 230 digs on the season pace the squad and slot 2nd in the conference.
She earned her second consecutive WCC Defensive Player of the Week honor (third career) on Monday, Sept. 21

MAJESTIC MAGGIE

Junior outside hitter Maggie Beauer tied a season-high in blocks (2.5) and digs (4) against Arizona on Sept. 6
She also racked up a career-high 20 kills against Arizona, a five-set victory over the Wildcats
Maggie's 142 kills are 2nd on the team (only trailing Chloe Pravednikov's 152) and 14th in the WCC

DON'T PUT IT PAST PISKORZ

The Waves paced the West Coast Conference with 295 blocks last year, and returning junior Ella Piskorz led all conference qualifiers with 151 (next-best was 126).
As of Wednesday night (9-30-26), Piskorz is tied for 3rd in the nation with 79 blocks
As of Wednesday night (9-30-26), the Waves pace the WCC with 139 team blocks. The next-best is LMU's 114. There are only three teams out of 10 in the league that have 100 or more team blocks.

PRAVEDNIKOV'S GOT THE POWER

Among all the season-highs Pepperdine players set against Arizona on Sept. 6, Pravednikov was part of the brigade with a season-best 17 kills and 15 digs
Chloe has the most points on the team with 168.0, which slots ninth in the WCC

DO YOU DIG THIS?

Sophomore outside hitter/libero Ryan Gilhooly was solid defensively last Thursday at Santa Clara, setting a new career-high with 12 digs.
She tallied consecutive matches in double figures with digs (11 at USC on Sept. 19 and at Santa Clara)

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.

TICKETS
For more information on ticket packages and to purchase tickets for upcoming home events, visit here.

FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine women's volleyball news, follow the Waves on social media: @PepperdineWVB on Twitter/X, @pepperdinewvb on Instagram, and Pepperdine Women's Volleyball on Facebook.

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Players Mentioned

Maggie Beauer

Laine Briggs

Ryan Gilhooly

Ella Piskorz

Chloe Pravednikov

Tristen Raymond

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