Waves head to Hawaii to meet Rainbow Wahine

MALIBU, California — After opening the season with two games against #20 USC, Pepperdine will travel to Hawaii to face the Rainbow Wahine in a 0-0 tie. The Waves will look to improve after losing 3-0 and 3-1 to the Trojans on opening weekend.

GAME #3 — Friday, September 6 at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii: Pepperdine (0-2) vs. Hawai’i (2-0) at 10:00 p.m. PT

GAME #4 — Saturday, September 7 at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii: Pepperdine (0-2) vs. Hawai’i (2-0) at 10:00 p.m. PT

SOCIAL MEDIA — Follow @WavesVolleyball on X for updates and visit PepperdineWaves.com and Facebook (/WavesVolleyball) for releases and more information. Find the Waves on Instagram @peppvolley.

ESPN+ & COVERAGE — For the second year in a row, all WCC games will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats and live stream links can be found at pepperdinewaves.com.

THE COMPETITION — Hawai’i is a team that received 28 votes in the AVCA Coach’s Poll and has two wins against SMU and San Diego. In its 3-2 victory over SMU, Hawai’i recorded 55 kills, 54 digs, six blocks and six service aces for a .090 success rate. Hawai’i beat San Diego 3-1 after the team recorded 49 kills for a .231 success rate and also added six blocks and five service aces. The Waves have an overall record of 4-32 against the Rainbow Wahine, with their last meeting in 2023 being a 3-0 loss.

Hawaii enters the 2024 season with seven returning key players, including three starters, from last season’s 24-9 team that won the Big West Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The team also includes five newcomers – four freshmen and one transfer who join the roster this season.

NEXT – The Waves will face #5 Stanford on Wednesday, September 11 at 6 p.m. at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, California before hosting the Asics Classic on September 13-15. Pepperdine begins the tournament on Friday, September 13 at 6:30 p.m. with a game against #3 Pitt, followed by a game against Omaha on Saturday, September 14 at 5 p.m. and concludes the tournament on Sunday, September 15 at 3 p.m. with a game against UCSB

LAST TIME – The Waves faced the No. 20 Trojans in their two-game season opener last weekend, losing 3-0 and 3-1, respectively. In their first meeting, USC kept a steady pace throughout the game, posting 49 kills on a .390 hitting percentage and adding three service aces. Graduate Transfer Riley Simpson led the Waves’ offense, scoring double-digit kills and hitting 13 with a .346 hit percentage. Senior Grace Chillingworth became the 22nd wave to surpass 1,000 career kills in this game with six additional kills.

In the second game, Pepperdine was able to make improvements on both offense and defense, holding the Trojans to a batting average of just .215, compared to their .380 batting average in the season opener on Friday night. Grace Chillingworth led Pepperdine with 14 kills and 11 digs for her first double-double of the season. Simpson had another effective night with 12 kills and four blocks. Birdie Hendrickson He also scored seven kills and 16 digs, the most on the team, while Kenadie Patterson added six kills and three blocks.

WCC PRE-SEASON AWARDS — Grace Chillingworth, Birdie HendricksonAnd Riley Simpson all made the WCC All-Preseason Team, which was announced last Friday. The Waves also finished first in the WCC Preseason Coaches’ Poll and received eight first-place honors.

2023 REVIEW — The Waves are coming off a 19-9 season, including a win at the WCC Championship and the program’s 27th NCAA Tournament appearance, its fifth in the last six years. After a 1-6 start to the 2023 season, the Waves rebounded to win their next 17 straight matches, including 14 in straight sets from Sept. 10-Nov. 11. The 17 straight wins represented the program’s second-best winning streak in history, last achieved in 2002 (17) and 2003 (25). It was also the eighth time in program history that Pepperdine has won 13 or more consecutive matches. In conference play, the Waves lost just six of the 53 sets played. The team ended its season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, losing in five sets to #18 Dayton.

The Waves averaged 12.5 kills per set with a .228 hit percentage and were able to score 14.3 digs, 12.5 assists, 2.4 blocks and 1.5 aces per set. Pepperdine held opponents to 12.1 kills with a .194 hit percentage. Grace Chillingworth led the charge, scoring 3.78 kills per set with a .272 magazine. She also led the team in service aces, scoring 32 aces in her 96 sets played. Vanessa Polk showed strong defensive performance and added 0.84 blocks per set. Brynne McGhie had a solid freshman season as a playmaker, scoring 2.56 assists per set last season.

ONE LAST BOWL OF CHILI — She returns for her final season with the Waves and was named 2023 WCC Player of the Year. Grace Chillingworth will look to help the team defend its WCC title. The veteran outside/counter attacker from Tustin, Calif., earned AVCA All-American and AVCA All-Pacific South Region honors last season, as well as four WCC Offensive Player of the Week awards. Chillingworth led the league last season with an average of 3.78 kills per set, which also ranked 64th in the nation, and also recorded seven double-doubles and 22 games with double-digit kills.

TAKEOVER BY FIRST-TIME STUDENTS — The 2024 roster features seven freshmen, making up nearly half of the Waves’ roster. Team Canada middle blocker Ella Piskorzjoins Pepperdine after being part of Canada’s U19 FIVB team that played at the 2023 World Championship in Croatia and Hungary. Outside attacker and All-League Player of the Year, Chloe Pravednikov is from Southern California and has received numerous league awards during her four-year career on the varsity team. A libero from Kailua, Hawaii, Charis Kaiearned a spot on the Prep Volleyball Class of 2024 watch list and helped her team to a HHSAA Division II state championship in 2023. Maggie Beaure also joins the team after winning the 2024 American National Championship and earning MVP honors at the tournament. Beauer also helped her high school finish 23rd nationally and win the 2023 6A Arizona State Championship. Mila StojakovicDaughter of longtime Sacramento King Peja Stojakovic, joins the front line after helping lead St. Francis Catholic HS to a regional championship last year. The Tustin, California native Ella Irwin will help on defense after playing four years as a libero on the volleyball team at Foothill High School in Tustin, California. Texan setter Piper Justis rounds out the freshman group; she was named a 6A All-District selection for Bowie High School in 2023.

MORE THAN AN ATHLETE — For several seasons, mental health has been a team priority for the Waves. The white jerseys the team wears feature a green ribbon that represents mental health awareness. At most games, many players wear green headbands and wristbands and even paint their nails to support the mental health awareness initiative and eliminate the stigma. The team also has two shirts that say “More Than an Athlete” and “Be Kind to Your Mind.” A focus of the team is to live an honest and healthy lifestyle with one another. At practice, the team has a meeting and check-in with the team and coaches at least once a week where the floor is open. From these check-ins, the team knows who needs to be supported throughout the week, who needs to be addressed, and why they may be struggling. The Pepperdine women’s volleyball team is trying to eliminate the stigma surrounding athlete mental health.

Season tickets — Season passes are now available for all fall sports, including women’s volleyball. Additionally, Pepperdine is offering a Fall All-Sports Pass that allows admission to all fall sports, including women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and men’s water polo – retailing at $525 for just $150. For more information and access to these exclusive season pass offers, visit gowav.es/peppszntix2425.

GROUP OPPORTUNITIES — Interested in bringing your group to a Pepperdine Athletics event? Unique experiences include anthem buddies, national anthem performances, fan tunnels, halftime performances and more. Group tickets (15+ tickets) and experiences are available starting at $5 per person for women’s volleyball, men’s water polo and women’s soccer. Those interested in purchasing group tickets can fill out this form or contact the ticket office via email at [email protected] or by phone at (866) WAVE-TIX.

JR. WAVES — Enroll your child(ren) in Pepperdine’s official kids’ club, Jr. Waves, for the 2024-2025 school year. Jr. Waves receive an exclusive t-shirt, membership card, and lanyard that grants free admission to all Pepperdine ticketed sporting events. Membership starts at $100 per child.