Pepperdine Women's Volleyball Team Unveils 2011 Slate
MALIBU, Calif. – Head Coach Nina Matthies announced the Pepperdine women’s volleyball team’s 2011 slate today, which features a grueling nonconference lineup to help prepare the Waves for the always challenging West Coast Conference schedule.
“After not making the NCAA Tournament last season, we knew that we needed to amp up our tournament schedule,” explained Matthies, who enters her 29th season at the helm of the program. “This season we’ve put ourselves into a position to play the best teams at the best tournaments.
“This is the opportunity to test our student-athletes early on, and see how they respond to the challenges they are faced with.”
Pepperdine will be tested early and often in its first month of competition, as they play nine matches versus teams who advanced to the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
The season opens at the Texas Tournament on Aug. 26-27, where they’ll face the hosting Longhorns, Ole Miss and the Israel National Team. Texas made their third-consecutive NCAA Semifinals appearance last season, while the Rebels earned a bid the tournament but exited after a first-round loss.
The match against Israel will be an exhibition, and not count towards the Waves’ overall record.
The following weekend the Waves host the annual Pepperdine Asics Classic, bringing opponents from the SEC, ACC and Big West conferences to Firestone Fieldhouse.
The Waves face Georgia on Friday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m., before taking on UC Santa Barbara and Miami the next day.
“All three teams coming this year to the Asics Classic are good, strong, athletic teams with great coaching staffs,” said Matthies. “California is well represented on all of their rosters, so it should be a great atmosphere with lots of fans.”
An intense week follows, beginning with a home match versus local rival UCLA on Wednesday, Sept. 7. Two days later, the Waves find themselves in Dayton, Ohio to face the tournament hosting Flyers, Michigan and Florida State. All four squads were tournament teams from a year ago, while the Bruins and Flyers ended the season ranked in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches’ Poll.
A final trip to the Islands to face Hawaii in a two-match series concludes the bulk of the nonconference portion of the season.
“It’s a tough three weeks of competition, with lots of travel and talented opponents,” continued Matthies. “But by putting a little bit of stress on our players, we will be better prepared for conference play.”
WCC play begins with a road trip to the Pacific Northwest on Sept 22-24 when Pepperdine takes on Portland and Gonzaga.
The Waves play at home against league rivals on Sept. 29 (Saint Mary’s), Oct. 8 (BYU), Oct. 24 (San Diego), Oct. 27 (Gonzaga), Oct. 29 (Portland), Nov. 3 (Santa Clara) and Nov. 10 (Loyola Marymount). The Toreros were the only NCAA Tournament team from a year ago.
Additionally, this is the first season BYU has been added to the WCC lineup. The Cougars were formally introduced into the conference last August, and begin their first season as a competing member this fall.
A final nonconference tangle with Air Force on Nov. 22 concludes the 2011 regular season.
Pepperdine finished the 2010 season with a 20-8 overall record, including 11-3 in the WCC. Thirteen letterwinners return to the 2011 roster, including all seven starters. In addition, six freshmen join the team this season. The newcomers earned a spot on Prepvolleyball.com’s Top-30 Recruiting Classes list and were ranked at #9.
