Press Release courtesy of Pepperdine, Ricky Davis
The Pepperdine women’s volleyball team has three matches on the docket this week as the Waves cohost the Pepperdine-CSUN Challenge alongside Cal State Northridge.
Pepperdine welcomes Northeastern and Weber State in Firestone Fieldhouse on Thursday andSaturday to open the home campaign and treks to Northridge to challenge the Matadors on Friday.
MATCH #4 — Thursday (August 31) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. Northeastern at 7 p.m. (PT) | Watch live on TheW.tv.
MATCH #5 — Friday (September 1) at The Matadome in Northridge, Calif.: Pepperdine at CSUN at 7 p.m. (PT) | Watch live on BigWest.tv.
MATCH #6 — Saturday (September 2) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine vs. Weber State at 12 p.m. (PT) | Watch live on TheW.tv.
LIVE — All matches will have live stream and live stats available. All Pepperdine home matches will stream live on TheW.tv. The match at CSUN will air on BigWest.tv. Direct links for all matches, including live statistics can be found on PepperdineWaves.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA — Follow @WavesVolleyball on Twitter for updates and check out PepperdineWaves.com and Facebook (/WavesVolleyball) for releases and more information.
TICKETS — Each home match costs $8 for adults and $5 for alumni, children, seniors and non-Pepperdine students. Tickets are free for Pepperdine students, faculty and staff with a valid Pepperdine ID. Purchase tickets in advance at 866-WAVE-TIX or at the ticket office on game day.
BY THE NUMBERS — Pepperdine has gone 2-1 since the season opened last week. As a team, the Waves boast 14.33 kills/set on a .257 success rate, 13.50 assists/set, 1.83 aces/set, 14.58 digs/set and 2.25 blocks/set. The team allows opponents 12.17 kills/set on a .206 clip, 10.83 assists/set, 1.58 aces/set, 13.58 digs/set and 2.29 blocks/set. Among conference competition, the Waves top the WCC rankings with 162 team assists, 172 team kills and 22 team aces. The Waves rank second in the conference in hitting percentage, team attacks/set, team digs and team total attacks and third in eight other categories. The Waves rank 28th nationally in team aces and 36th in assists/set.
RETURNING IMPACT — Many returning faces gelled into action over the weekend, resulting in a cohesive playing dynamic and powerful stat production. Hannah Frohling led the attack with 4.17 kills/set, while adding 0.50 aces/set, 2.83 digs/set and 0.50 blocks/set in an all-around effort. After three matches, she ranks nationally in seven categories and tops conference opponents in points, points/set and kills. Heidi Dyer and Jasmine Gross are next on the attack front with 2.91 and 2.83 kills/set respectively. Dyer added 1.18 digs/set and 0.27 blocks/set while Gross led the team with 1.25 blocks/set and a .333 hitting percentage. Hana Lishman returned from the summer and off-season as solid in the back row as her freshman campaign, and led the team with an astounding 4.42 digs/set average. She also marked 0.92 assists/set and 0.25 aces for the team. The lone senior Ashley Harrisalso performed well with 2.08 kills/set and 0.83 blocks/set to help Pepperdine’s output.
NEWCOMER TALENT — Fans saw a few new faces on the court as well over opening weekend, highlighted by junior transfer Blossom Sato and freshmen Lexi Barker, Alli O’Harra and Grace Nielsen. Sato was instrumental to the Waves’ success with 11.83 assists/set and 142 total assists. She ranks 17th nationally in assists/set and 19th in total assists. Sato also marked 0.50 kills/set, 0.33 aces/set and 0.25 blocks/set as well. Barker made a big impact in the back row and on the service line, positing 0.42 aces/set and 1.67 digs/set off the bench as defensive support for the Waves. O’Harra and Nielsen each saw time in the middle, posting 1.17 and 1.12 kills/set and 0.33 and 0.75 blocks/set respectively.
OPENING WEEKEND — The Waves went 2-1 to open the 2017 campaign, defeating Utah Valley and Fresno State 3-1 and 3-0, while dropping to San Jose State in a five-set thriller. Against UVU, the Waves won the match with 25-19, 23-25, 25-20 and 29-27 set scores. The team amassed a .228 hitting percentage with 62 kills and only 23 errors on 171 swings. Pepperdine also posted 12 team blocks, 70 digs and 13 service aces. The team ace mark ranks 2nd in the Pepperdine women’s volleyball record books for most aces in a single match during the rally scoring era. Hannah Frohling led the squad with 20 kills and a career-best 16 digs for her second-career double-double and added three aces. Jasmine Gross tied her career-high 15 kills on a .400 hitting percentage and led the team with seven blocks including two solo rejections. Hana Lishman was one-shy of her career-best dig mark with 22 in the match and Lexi Barker led the squad with four aces while adding 10 digs. Blossom Sato led the team with 54 assists and amassed three aces as well.
The Waves dropped to SJSU with 25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 25-21 and 16-18 set scores, while amassing 62 kills on a .272 clip. The team added six aces, 9.0 team blocks and 61 digs as well. Heidi Dyer led the squad with 16 kills on a .286 hitting percentage, while Frohling and Gross hit for double-figure kills with 14 and 11 respectively. Gross led the team with five blocks as well. Sato tallied her first Pepperdine double-double with 47 assists and 15 digs and Lishman posted 17 digs and two aces.
In the final match of the weekend, the Waves collected the team’s first sweep with 25-14, 25-23 and 28-26 set scores against Fresno State. Pepperdine posted 48 kills on a .279 success rate and added 6.0 team blocks, 44 digs and three aces. Frohling and Dyer led the attack with 16 and 12 kills respectively. Frohling added nine digs and two aces. Sato posted 41 assists, five digs and an ace and Gross marked eight kills and three blocks. Ashley Harris led the team with four blocks and posted six kills and Lishman led the defensive effort with 14 digs.
THE COMPETITION — Pepperdine will face Northeastern, Cal State Northridge and Weber State in Malibu and Northridge this week. The match against Northeastern will be the first time the two team face. The Huskies have gone 1-2 with losses to Temple and Maryland and a win over University of Maryland Baltimore County. Pepperdine has collected a 14-3 record over Cal State Northridge since the teams first faced in 1976. The Waves won the first match 3-1 and the finished off a six-match winning streak before the Matadors won a match 3-0 in 1980. Last season, the Waves defeated the Matadors with a 3-2 mark in Firestone Fieldhouse. This season, CSUN has gone 1-2 with losses to Portland State and Eastern Kentucky and a win over San Diego State. The Waves will close out the weekend with Weber State on Saturday, a team Pepperdine holds a 1-0 record against. The Waves faced the Wildcats for the first and only time in 1986 when Pepperdine swept the opposition on the road. This season, Weber State has gone 0-3 after the opening weekend with losses to Arizona State, Boise State and North Dakota State.
SCOTT WONG — Pepperdine alum Scott Wong was named head coach in December 2014, becoming the fifth head coach in program history. In first two seasons at the helm of the Waves, he amassed a 30-31 overall record for Pepperdine. He was an assistant with the Waves’ men’s program from 2005-09 (and was part of the 2005 NCAA championship-winning team) before moving back to his home state of Hawaii and serving as associate coach with the Rainbows’ women’s squad for five seasons. He was also Hawaii’s sand volleyball head coach. Wong was a three-time All-American with the Waves between 1998-01.
INDOOR VOLLEYBALL HISTORY — The Pepperdine women’s volleyball program is synonymous with the word excellence, as the Waves are a perennial national power. The Waves have advanced to postseason play 27 times in 42 seasons, including 13 trips to the NCAA Championships in the last 20 seasons. Pepperdine’s best finishes in recent years came when the team made the regional final of the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and again in 2011. Ten players have earned AVCA or Volleyball Magazine All-American honors a combined 19 times, while six players have been dubbed the WCC Player of the Year nine total times. Nina Matthies, who stepped down after the 2013 season, was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in December, 2015.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE — Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I Championships in five different men’s sports — one of just 17 schools to have accomplished this feat — and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a “major” conference. The Waves have won a total of 25 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that’s given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation’s most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks No. 50 overall on U.S. News and World Report’s list of America’s best colleges.
Leave a Reply