MALIBU,Calif. – Head Coach Nina Matthies announced the Pepperdine women’s volleyball team’s 2010 schedule today, and the Waves will get a challenging start to the season with four straight matches against 2009 NCAA Tournament teams.
“We’ve got the majority of our kids returning, and they had a great spring,” said Matthies, who is beginning her 28th season in Malibu. “They did a lot of work to get ready for next season and building team cohesion. We’ve got three freshmen coming in to bolster the lineup, and they’re all playing fantastic with their club teams right now. Everyone will be ready to go.
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“We’ll be tested early with our schedule, but it will prepare us for conference. Our goal is to win the WCC and beat everybody before that. That’s the goal every year, to win. It’s a good schedule and a tough schedule and we’re looking forward to the season.”
Seven of the Waves’ 14 non-conference matches will come against 2009 NCAA Tournament teams.
Pepperdine opens the season at the MCM Elegante Lobo Classic, hosted by the University of New Mexico, on Aug. 27-28. All three opponents there – New Mexico, Stanford and Tulane – made the postseason last year.
The Waves come home to host their annual Pepperdine Asics Classic on Sept. 3-4. The Waves open with Rice, another NCAA Tournament team of a year ago, and also take on Eastern Washington and Missouri.
After a road match at local foe UCLA (another NCAA Tournament team) on Sept. 8, the Waves play in tournaments at UNLV on Sept. 10-11 (Cal State Fullerton, UNLV, Eastern Kentucky) and Arizona on Sept. 17-18 (New Mexico State, Arizona, Texas State). Arizona played in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
West Coast Conference play begins with a road trip to the Bay Area on Sept. 30-Oct. 2, and then the Waves compete in their final non-conference match against NCAA Tournament team UC Santa Barbara at home on Oct. 6.
WCC home dates are Oct. 14 (Gonzaga), Oct. 16 (Portland), Oct. 28 (Santa Clara), Oct. 30 (San Francisco), Nov. 6 (Loyola Marymount), Nov. 18 (San Diego) and Nov. 20 (Saint Mary’s). The Gaels were the WCC’s lone NCAA Tournament team a year ago.
Pepperdine concluded the 2009 season with a 16-11 overall record and in third place in the WCC with a 9-5 mark. The Waves return 12 players, including 11 letterwinners. Four of the six starters plus the libero are back, including junior middle blocker Kim Hill (Portland, Ore./Portland Christian HS), an AVCA honorable mention selection and all-WCC first team member in 2009, and junior libero Stevi Robinson (Hermosa Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS), a two-time All-WCC honorable mention pick.
Pepperdine 2010 Schedule
MCM Elegante Lobo Classic
Fri, August 27: at New Mexico, 7:30 p.m.
Sat, August 28: vs. Stanford, 11:30 a.m.
Sat, August 28: vs. Tulane, 7:30 p.m.
Pepperdine Asics Classic
Fri, Sept. 3: Missouri vs. Eastern Washington, 4:30 p.m.
Fri, Sept. 3: Pepperdine vs. Rice, 7 p.m.
Sat, Sept. 4: Pepperdine vs. Eastern Washington, 10 a.m.
Sat, Sept. 4: Missouri vs. Rice, 12:30 p.m.
Sat, Sept. 4: Rice vs. Eastern Washington, 5 p.m.
Sat, Sept. 4: Pepperdine vs. Missouri, 7:30 p.m.
Wed, Sept. 8: at UCLA, 7 p.m.
UNLV Tournament
Fri, Sept. 10: vs. Cal State Fullerton, 4:30 p.m.
Sat, Sept. 11: at UNLV, 12:30 p.m.
Sat. Sept. 11: vs. Eastern Kentucky, 4:30 p.m.
Arizona Tournament
Fri., Sept. 17: vs. New Mexico State, 10:30 a.m.
Fri, Sept. 17: at Arizona, 7 p.m.
Sat, Sept. 18: vs. Texas State, 11 a.m.
Thurs, Sept. 30: at San Francisco*, 7 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 2: at Santa Clara*, 1 p.m.
Wed, Oct. 6: vs. UC Santa Barbara, 7 p.m.
Sat. Oct. 9: at Loyola Marymount*, 7 p.m.
Thurs, Oct. 14: vs. Gonzaga*, 7 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 16: vs. Portland*, 1 p.m.
Thurs, Oct. 21: at Saint Mary’s*, 7 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 23: at San Diego*, 1 p.m.
Thurs, Oct. 28: vs. Santa Clara*, 7 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 30: vs. San Francisco*, 1 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 6: vs. Loyola Marymount*, 7 p.m.
Thurs, Nov. 11: at Portland*, 7 p.m.
Sat, Nov. 13: at Gonzaga*, Noon
Thurs, Nov. 18: vs. San Diego*, 7 p.m.
Sat, Nov. 20: vs. Saint Mary’s*, 1 p.m.
Dec. 2-4: NCAA Tournament 1st/2nd Rounds
Dec. 9-11: NCAA Tournament Regionals
Dec. 16-18: NCAA Tournament Final Four
* WCC Tournament match
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