Sand Volleyball: Waves Look to Continue Early Success at Long Beach State and College of Charleston Sand Classic
March 20, 2012
MALIBU, Calif. - After a successful season opener this past weekend, the Pepperdine women’s sand volleyball team continues action with four road duals this week. The Waves first face Long Beach State on Wednesday, March 21 at 2 p.m. before traveling to South Carolina to tangle with Alabama-Birmingham, College of Charleston and Mercer on March 23-25 at the College of Charleston Sand Classic.
DUAL #1 - Wednesday (March 21) at the Campus Sand Volleyball Courts: Pepperdine (0-0) at Long Beach State (1-0) at 2 p.m.
DUAL #2 - Friday (March 23) at the Creekside Facility (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.): Pepperdine vs. Alabama-Birmingham (1-1) at 11 a.m. (ET)
DUAL #3 - Saturday (March 24) at the Creekside Facility: Pepperdine at College of Charleston (0-2) at 1:30 p.m. (ET)
DUAL #4 - Sunday (March 25) at the Creekside Facility: Pepperdine vs. Mercer (0-0) at 11 a.m. (E.T.)
LOOKING BACK - Pepperdine made a huge statement in its opening weekend of play, going a combined 33-11 at the USC Tournament on March 16-18. The Waves came out of Friday’s pool play as the clear front runners, going a tournament best 12-3 versus the Trojans, Florida State and Long Beach State.
During Saturday’s team competition, Pepperdine took first place with 18 points, followed by the Seminoles with 12 points. All five Wave pairs reached the finals, with three emerging as the first-place team in the respective flights.
Two Pepperdine duos reached the semifinals for the pairs competition, including Caitlin Racich and Summer Ross, and Victoria Adelhelm and Kellie Woolever. Racich and Ross advanced the finals, but suffered a three-set loss to Florida State’s Aurora Newgard and Brittany Tiegs, who went undefeated over the course of the weekend.
THE VENUE - Long Beach State hosts its home matches on campus at the Sand Volleyball Courts, which are located behind the Campus Diamond and the 49er Softball Complex (Campus map here: http://daf.csulb.edu/maps/pdf/2pg.pdf) Fans wishing to attend the match can come for free, and are encouraged to bring their own beach seating, as there are no grandstands around the courts, but plenty of room on the grass to watch the matches.
MOUNT PLEASANT - The College of Charleston Sand Classic will be held at the Creekside Tennis and Swim Facility in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
THE FORMAT - This week Pepperdine will compete in a dual format, similar to college tennis, where the No. 1 pair from one school plays the No. 1 pair from the opposing school, No. 2 vs. No. 2 and so on and so forth. A team must win three of the five matches in order to clinch the team victory.
WHAT’S NEXT - The Waves take a week off before hosting their only two home events of the season, beginning on Thursday, April 5 at noon versus Long Beach State. On Saturday, April 7, Pepperdine welcomes USC at 10 a.m. The Waves play their home matches on the south end of Zuma Beach, just north of Point Dume. Admission to the event is free, while a small fee is charged to park in the lot adjacent to the beach. A limited amount of free parking is also available along the west side of the Pacific Coast Highway. Spectators are encouraged to bring their own lounge chairs or blankets.
NOTING THE WAVES - Caitlin Racich leads Pepperdine with 6.09 kills/set ... Stevi Robinson averages 5.71 digs/set ... Victoria Adelhelm and Emily Cook have been the best at the net thus far with 11 total blocks apiece ... Summer Ross has tallied the most service aces with 30.
THE LINEUP - Head coach Nina Matthies has utilized the following line up this season: No. 1 Caitlin Racich/Summer Ross; No. 2 Lilla Frederick/Kim Hill; No. 3 Victoria Adelhelm/Kellie Woolever; No. 4 Kelley Larsen/Stevi Robinson; No. 5 Michaela Christiaansen/Emily Cook.
DEPTH - The Waves have proven early that there are no weak spots in their line up and are strong top to bottom. Kelly Larsen and Stevi Robinson, who make up Pepperdine’s No. 3 pair, downed USC’s top pair of Sara Shaw and Geena Urango in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals of the pairs championship last weekend. Michaela Christiaansen and Emily Cook, who hold down the No. 5 spot, also defeated Shaw and Urango, as well as Long Beach State’s No. 2 team of Lauren Minkel and Delainey Aigner-Swesey and Florida State’s No. 3 pair of Visnja Djurdjecvic and Melanie Pavels. No. 4 Victoria Adelhelm and Kellie Woolever won eight-straight matches last weekend, before suffering their only defeat to teammates Caitlin Racich and Summer Ross in the semifinals of the pairs championship.
SAND VOLLEYBALL 101 - Each team competition is called a dual and will consist of five pairs from one school versus five pairs from another school. Each match is worth one point towards the team score. In this best-of-five format, a winner is determined when a team scores at least three points (similar to how collegiate tennis duals are contested).
The separate matches consist of the best-of-three sets, with rally scoring to 21 in the first two sets and to 15 in the third set if necessary. Teams must win by at least two points.
Pairs competitions will also be held this season, with the two-person teams being placed in brackets and playing in single elimination tournaments.
The AVCA National Team Championship will be held in the same format as the team competition at the USC Tournament. The No. 1 pairs from all four schools in attendance will play each other in a double-elimination flight (No. 2 vs. No. 2 etc.), with a sudden death final. The first-place team from each flight is awarded four points, second place earns three points, two points for third place and point for fourth. The team with the most points at the end is crowned the champion.
SOCIAL MEDIA - Fans can follow the Waves on Twitter @PepperdineWVB or @PepperdineWaves and “like” us on Facebook by searching for Pepperdine Athletics.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? - There are a few key elements of sand volleyball that differ from its indoor counterpart. No open hand tipping is allowed, and the block touch counts as the first of three allowable contacts. Coaches may only speak to players or give instruction during timeouts or between sets. Finally, to make a level playing field with regards to impact of the sun and wind, the players switch sides of the court every seven points in a 21 point set, and every five points in a 15 point set. The court is also smaller at 8x8 meters, while the indoor court measures 9x9 meters.
WHAT’S AN EMERGING SPORT? - Collegiate sand volleyball is an “emerging sport.” It has 10 years to gain the minimum 40 sponsoring institutions for two years in a row to be considered an NCAA Championship sport.
NINA MATTHIES - Nina Matthies’ just completed her 29th season as head coach for the indoor team and boasts a career record of 553-319 (.632), which includes 10 conference championships and 19 NCAA Tournament appearances. She is by far the WCC’s all-time winningest coach and is a 10-time WCC Coach of the Year. Matthies was among the world’s top players and is a member of the Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame. In 2009, Dig Magazine rated her and former partner Linda Hanley as the second-best women’s beach team of all time. She won two AIAW national championships as a player at UCLA.
VOLLEYBALL HISTORY — The Pepperdine women’s indoor volleyball program is synonymous with the word excellence, as the Waves are a perennial national power. The Waves have advanced to postseason play 26 times in 37 seasons, including 12 trips to the NCAA Championships in the last 15 seasons. Pepperdine’s best finishes in recent years came when the team made the regional final of the 2002 NCAAs, and again during the 2011 season.
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 16 schools to have accomplished this feat - and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest enrollment and is the only school not in a major conference. 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.
# # #
