Pepperdine University’s women’s volleyball team will conclude its regular season with two home games this week, facing Gonzaga on Wednesday and Saint Mary’s on Saturday, both at noon. The matches will be available for live streaming on ESPN+, and fans can access live statistics through the team’s schedule page on the Pepperdine Waves website.
The upcoming games mark the end of a regular season in which Pepperdine has compiled a 19-8 overall record and a 13-3 record in West Coast Conference (WCC) play. A sweep of both opponents would secure 15 conference wins for only the fourth time in program history and the third under head coach Scott Wong.
Reflecting on recent performances, Pepperdine secured a five-set victory over Loyola Marymount University last Saturday, led by Vanessa Polk’s 13 kills. Earlier in the week, their ten-match winning streak ended with a straight-set loss to San Diego, despite Maggie Beauer recording 14 kills.
Sophomore players have played significant roles throughout the season. Outside hitter Chloe Pravednikov leads with 284 kills and ranks 13th in the WCC for that statistic. Middle blocker Ella Piskorz is among national leaders with 139 total blocks, averaging 1.40 per set—top marks within the conference—and has received three Defensive Player of the Week honors from the WCC.
Other key contributors include setter Tristen Raymond, who leads Pepperdine with nearly seven assists per set while also ranking high in service aces and digs; Laine Briggs, whose serving ability places her among Division I leaders; and Irelynd Lorenzen, who transferred from Lafayette and is second on the team in blocks per set.
Defensively, Pepperdine ranks 14th nationally in blocks per set (2.77) and holds opponents to a .157 hitting percentage—ninth-best in NCAA Division I. Offensively from behind the service line, they are also ranked 14th nationally for aces per set.
This season saw notable comebacks by Pepperdine, including overcoming an eleven-point deficit against San Francisco earlier this fall. Two of their four five-set victories were achieved via reverse sweeps.
In NCAA RPI rankings as of late November, Pepperdine stands at No. 47 after being one of the final teams excluded from last year’s tournament field. Their schedule includes three wins over top-100 RPI teams: UCLA (No. 42), UC Santa Barbara (No. 55), and UC Davis (No. 58). Six of their seven losses have come against top-100 opponents as well.
Coach Scott Wong is completing his eleventh season leading a squad picked second in this year’s preseason coaches’ poll behind San Diego but ahead of LMU—the three programs that have won recent conference titles. This year’s roster features ten returners but just one returning starter from last year’s championship squad: middle blocker Ella Piskorz.
New additions to the team include transfers Irelynd Lorenzen (Lafayette), Nalani Muniz (Southern Utah), and Iva Popovic (Bradley/New Mexico Junior College). Three freshmen joined as well: Ryan Gilhooly (Pacific Palisades), Tristen Raymond (Peoria), and Alice Vigano (Lake Como). For the first time under Wong’s tenure, there are three international players—Piskorz (Canada), Popovic (Serbia), and Vigano (Italy).
Historically against this week’s opponents, Pepperdine holds a commanding lead over both programs: they are up 67-9 all-time versus Gonzaga—including ten wins out of their last eleven meetings—and lead Saint Mary’s by a margin of 60-16 with an ongoing eleven-match winning streak.
Gonzaga comes into Wednesday’s match eighth in conference standings after dropping three out of four recent matches; their offense is led by Sjakkie Donkers who ranks second in both kills and kills per set within the WCC. Saint Mary’s arrives riding a three-game win streak with Mya Allen leading her team offensively at fifth-best for kills per set league-wide.
Since its inception in 1981, Pepperdine women’s volleyball has appeared in twenty-six NCAA Tournaments and claimed twelve WCC championships while producing numerous All-Americans—including Olympian Kim Hill who earned gold at Tokyo’s Olympic Games.
