COACHING RECORDS
Pepperdine alum Scott Wong was named the Waves’ head women’s volleyball coach in December of 2014, becoming the fifth head coach in the program’s history. He enters his eleventh season at the helm of the Waves’ program in 2025.
He now holds an impressive 180-107 (.627) winning record as head coach of the Waves after 10 full seasons. In his sixth year leading the program in the 2020 campaign, Wong had reached the 100-win milestone after #20 Pepperdine downed #21 San Diego in four sets on March 26, 2021. Wong was named the 2023 WCC Coach of the year after leading the squad to their first WCC Championship title since 2011.
At Pepperdine, he has coached 31 players to West Coast Conference postseason honors, with 24 first team selections, eight second team accolades, 10 honorable mention tabs and 13 All-Freshman nods. He led five to AVCA All-Pacific South Region first team honors on seven occasions, including Becca Strehlow, Tarah Wylie, Rachel Ahrens twice, Isabel Zelaya Shannon Scully, and Grace Chillingworth. Scully also tabbed an honorable mention regional nod her premier season with the Waves. He has coached three players to AVCA All-American acclaim with Rachel Ahrens, Shannon Scully, and Grace Chillingworth garnering honorable mention nods, including back-to-back honors in 2020 and 2021 for Ahrens.
He’s also led five Waves to the highest WCC postseason honors available, coaching Tarah Wylie, Meg Brown, Grace Chillingworth and Emily Hellmuth to WCC Freshman of the Year in 2015, 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively, Madison Shields to WCC Libero of the Year in 2020, Isabel Zelaya to WCC Setter of the Year in 2023, and Grace Chillingworth to WCC Player of the Year in 2023.
The Recent Years
The 2024 season saw the Waves go 17-11 against a challenging non-conference schedule and finish third in the WCC standings. Thanks to the efforts of Grace Chillingworth and Birdie Hendrickson, Pepperdine had arguably the most productive offensive duo in the league; Chillingworth's 3.94 kills per set ranked second in the WCC, while Hendrickson's mark of 3.55 kills per set ranked third. Both seniors earned All-WCC First Team nods. Freshman middle blocker Ella Piskorz also put together one of the most impressive debut seasons in program history, becoming the first Wave to make the All-WCC First Team and the All-WCC Freshman Team since 2016. Trinity Stanger (WCC Second Team) and Chloe Pravednikov (WCC All-Freshman Team) rounded out the Waves' all-conference award winners.
In 2023, Wong coached the Waves to their fifth NCAA Tournament berth in the last six years after finishing the regular season 19-9, while also winning the WCC Championship title after going 15-1 in conference play. The team accumulated their second-longest winning streak in program history, taking 17 consecutive matches, spanning over two months. Wong was named the 2023 WCC Coach of the Year after leading the squad to five first-team All-WCC awards, WCC Player of the Year acclaim for Grace Chillingworth, who also also earned WCC Player of the Week awards on four separate occasions, and WCC Setter of the Year honors for Isabel Zelaya.
During the 2022 season, Wong coached the Waves to the programs fourth NCAA Tournament berth in the last five years after finishing the regular season with a 19-11 record and a 10-8 output among West Coast Conference competitors for a fourth-place finish in the league. The team finished the season receiving votes in the AVCA coaches poll and had climbed to as high as 16th during the season. He led Meg Brown and Grace Chillingworth to All-WCC first team selections, while coaching Emily Hellmuth to WCC Freshman of the Year – the third-consecutive honor of its kind for Pepperdine.
In 2021, Wong led Pepperdine to the teams third NCAA Tournament appearance in four years after compiling a 22-6 overall record with a 14-4 WCC output and 2nd place in the league. The squad was ranked nationally in nearly every single national coaches poll throughout the season, ending with receiving votes in the final poll after finishing the season in the NCAA first round. He led Ahrens to an AVCA All-American honorable mention nod and both she and Isabel Zelaya to All-WCC first team acclaim. He also helped Grace Chillingworth to a WCC Freshman of the Year honor as well.
The team finished ranked nationally in multiple categories, including 24th in winning percentage, 26th in kills/set with 13.79, 31st with 12.71 assists/set, 38th with .252 hitting percentage and 67th with 1.58 aces/set. Rachel Ahrens finished nationally ranked in many categories as well, finishing 5th with 5.63 points/set, 8th with 4.89 kills/set and 591.0 points, 9th with 513 total kills, 14th with 0.49 aces/set, 16th with 51 aces and others. She topped the league in eight separate categories, while Isabel Zelaya also led the league with 1,144 total assists and 10.79 assists/set and Madison Shields led with 4.31 digs/set and was second with 457 total digs.
Wong led the Waves to one of the best seasons in recent years in the 2020 campaign, which was uncommonly played in Spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He coached the squad to a No. 20 AVCA Coaches Poll final ranking and a NCAA Championship second round appearance. Pepperdine went 17-4 overall and 16-2 in the WCC to finish second in the league. He led the Waves to the program’s first two AVCA All-Americans since the 2013 season, seeing Shannon Scully and Rachel Ahrens achieve the feat. He coached three players to AVCA All-Pacific South Region and five to All-WCC postseason accolades, including Madison Shields to WCC Libero of the Year and Meg Brown to WCC Freshman of the Year. Scully, Ahrens, Brown and Isabel Zelaya were also named All-WCC first teamers.
The Waves earned a spot on the AVCA Coaches Poll and consistently worked their way up throughout the season. The team ranked in the top-51 in 10 statistical categories and atop the WCC in five including assists (19th), kills (22nd), digs (49th), blocks (50th) and total attacks (51st). The squad also ranked nationally in assists/set (17th), hitting percentage and kills/set (30th), win-loss percentage (31st) and aces (42nd).
In the 2019 campaign, Wong coached Pepperdine to an 18-11 output, including a 14-4 record and a 3rd place finish in the West Coast Conference. He led six Waves to WCC postseason honors including Hannah Frohling, Tarah Wylie and Shannon Scully to first team acclaim. After the season, Wylie went on to sign a professional contract after the season, while Scully and Hana Lishman went on to make Team USA’s National Collegiate Team roster as well as earned spots on Team USA’s Spring Training roster.
The team ranked top-30 nationally in aces/set (22nd) and aces/set (28th) and led the conference with 1.68 aces/set. Rachel Ahrens became the Pepperdine women’s volleyball program rally scoring era single-season ace leader with 49 aces. She currently ranks atop the career charts with a 0.37 aces/set output in the rally scoring era, while ranked 2nd for her 0.45 aces/set in a single-season in 2019.
In 2018, Wong led his squad to a second round appearance in the NCAA Tournament and a second place finish within the West Coast Conference. It was the team’s first appearance in the Tournament since 2012 and the first tournament win by a Waves’ team since 2011. In the opening round, Pepperdine defeated Northern Iowa in a five-set thriller to advance against tournament-house #6 Wisconsin, where the team was felled in a tough four-set battle.
The squad finished with an impressive 22-9 (.710) and a 14-4 WCC output throughout the season despite the season being threatened by a series of tragic events in the Malibu and surround communities. In November, with four regular season matches left on the docket, a fatal shooting that left 12 dead including one Pepperdine student happened at Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks. That next morning, the notorious Woolsey Fire erupted, forcing evacuations and closing Malibu’s campus for three weeks. Despite the trying circumstances, the 2018 Pepperdine squad pulled together, finishing the regular season matches either on the road or at UCLA’s Robertson Gym and winning all four matches to finish 2nd in the conference. With the strong finish, the team also earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament.
The Beginning at Pepperdine
In his premier season, Wong Coached freshman standout Tarah Wylie to WCC Freshman of the Year status. He led Wylie and Heidi Dyer to WCC All-Freshman recognition and senior Becca Strehlow to garner All-WCC first team accolades. He led Pepperdine to a 17-14 overall record and a tied-5th place overall finish in the West Coast Conference with an 8-10 record.
In his second season, the Waves highlighted the end of the season with a 3-1 win over No. 11 San Diego. He coached another freshman standout Jasmine Gross to All-WCC first team and WCC All-Freshman team honors. Under his tutelage, Gross became the Pepperdine Rally Scoring Era Single-Season Block Leader with 154 blocks as a freshman, beating the previous record which stood since 2005.
The pair continued to grow together in Wong’s third season at the 2017 season as Gross once again broke the all-time single season block record including both sideout and rally scoring eras with 179 blocks on the season. Gross went on to earn AVCA All-Pacific South Region honors. Wong now holds an even .500 winning percentage with a 46-46 all-time record for Pepperdine.
Player All-American Honors
Wong has coached his fair share of AVCA All-Americans. With UH, he saw Kanani Danielson and Kanoe Kamana‘o named to the first team, with Emily Hartong, Brittany Hewitt, and Jamie Houston all earning second team honors during their careers and Olivia Magill and Emily Maglio tabbing honorable mention accolades. In the sand, he’s mentored Jane Croson, Katie Spieler, Nikki Taylor, Brittany Tiegs and Karissa Cook to All-American status. For the Pepperdine women, Wong has coached Becca Strehlow, who earned All-American honorable mention status early in her career and most recently coached Shannon Scully and Rachel Ahrens to honorable mention acclaim. On the men’s side, Sean Rooney (2005), Jonathan Winder (2007) and Paul Carroll (2009) won the AVCA National Player of the Year, with Andy Hein and Kasey Crider also garnering All-America honors.
Wong Coaching Hawai’i and Team USA
The Rainbow Wahine enjoyed tremendous success during Wong’s time with the program. UH won four league titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament all five seasons with Wong on the sideline. Hawaii reached as far as the regional semifinals in 2011, losing a tightly contested match to USC. The ‘Bows just recently concluded the 2014 season with a 22-7 record after reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Wong’s coaching experience also extends to the sand, where he was head coach of the Hawaii sand volleyball team from 2012-14. He guided the ‘Bows to a 30-17 record across three seasons. The Rainbow Wahine earned their first bid as a team to the AVCA National Championships last spring, upsetting top-seeded USC in the quarterfinals before falling to Florida State in the semifinals.
Prior to joining the Hawaii coaching staff, Wong assisted Coach Dunphy and helped the Waves win the 2005 NCAA Championship, its fifth NCAA title in program history. Pepperdine swept Ohio State in the national semifinal before rallying from a 2-1 deficit to defeat UCLA, 3-2, in the championship match at Pauley Pavilion, capping off its 25-2 season.
The Waves made NCAA championship runs again in 2008 and 2009. The 2008 team entered the MPSF Tournament as the No. 5 seed, but after an improbable run, Pepperdine found themselves in the NCAA Championship title match against Penn State. The Waves would fall to the Nittany Lions and finish the season ranked #2 nationally. The following season Pepperdine came within one point of returning to the NCAA Tournament but fell in five sets to USC and closed the season at #3 in the final national poll.
He also spent time coaching for USA Volleyball, making a trip as the coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team in the summer of 2009, where he coached them to a gold at the NORCECA tournament.
Wong’s Playing History
Wong was a three-time All-American for the Pepperdine men’s volleyball team from 1998-01 before serving as an assistant coach for two legendary volleyball instructors. He first assisted Marv Dunphy on the Waves’ sideline for four men’s seasons between 2005 and 2009. From 2010-14, Wong was the associate coach for Dave Shoji and the Hawaii women’s volleyball squad. Shoji is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball history.
The 2001 graduate of Pepperdine University grew up in Pearl City, O‘ahu, and played his high school ball at Punahou School in Honolulu.
In Wong’s four seasons at Pepperdine, the Waves went 81-26 (.757), won two MPSF Tournament Championships and made three NCAA Tournament appearances.
As a player, Wong was a three-time All-American and four-time All-MPSF performer. In 1998, he was tabbed the Freshman of the Year by both the AVCA and MPSF. He remains one of the top players to ever play at Pepperdine. Wong holds the program’s record with 807 career digs, and ranks in the top five in aces (4th, 140), kills (5th, 1700), and fifth in total points.
Prior to coaching, Wong enjoyed a seven-year career as a beach volleyball player. He also enjoyed a brief stint on the U.S. Men’s National Team, serving as an outside hitter and libero, helping the team to a gold medal at the 2001 World University Games and a strong finish in the 2001 FIVB World League. The U.S. was the only team in the world to beat Brazil, the eventual world champions that year.
Personal
Wong is married to the former Tamar Hassing. The couple has two children: Elyse Ahonuiaola and Dylan Kahn.
