As the season ended for Pepperdine’s fall sports — one team won the conference, another were co-winners, and another just missed it. This year, those teams said they want another shot at that glory.
As the fall season is now underway, members of Pepperdine Women’s Soccer, Women’s Indoor Volleyball and Men’s Water Polo said while they are gearing up for another run at a WCC title — they’re also fighting for a deep run in the postseason.
“Our goal is to do what no Pepperdine team has done before,” said graduate midfielder/forward Tori Waldeck.
Women’s Volleyball Seeks to Repeat
After starting 1-6 in 2023, Women’s Indoor Volleyball went on a 17-match win-streak and went 15-1 in WCC play to win their first WCC title since 2011, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Compared to 2023, this year’s team will have a different look to it. Of the six starters, three graduated and another transferred, leaving only two returners.
Notable returns for this year include senior outside/opposite hitter Grace Chillingworth who is the reigning WCC Player of the Year, graduate outside/opposite Birdie Hendrickson who was on the All-WCC First Team and Head Coach Scott Wong who is the reigning WCC Coach of the Year, according to the WCC.
Chillingworth said the adjustment to a different team is difficult at first, but spending extra time with each other helps the adjustment and will build a strong culture that is critical for success.
“Culture is very important,” Chillingworth said. “Especially in those hard times — say we’re down against a really big team — our culture allows us to really lean on each other and be there for each other.”
Of the 10 newcomers to the team, Chillingworth said one who has stuck out the most is graduate opposite hitter Riley Simpson who transferred from Baylor.
“She’s been really impressive on both pins,” Chillingworth said. “I think she’ll carry a big load for us this year and hopefully take us far in the tournament.”
As their pre-season approaches, Chillingworth said despite their ultimate goal being to repeat as conference champions and make a deep run in the NCAA tournament — the team will be taking each segment of their season one game at a time.
“We want to win the conference again,” Chillingworth said. “But focusing on preseason first, and taking it game by game, and then focusing on the WCC championship.”
The WCC has added two new affiliate members: Oregon State and Washington State who, made it to the third round of the NCAA tournament. Despite the new competition and a different roster, Chillingworth said as long as they play up to their standard they can handle any team in the conference.
“I would still put us up there as number one,” Chillingworth said. “I know Oregon State and Washington State will both be good competition for us, but at the end of the day, as long as we play our volleyball and do what we know how to do, there’s gonna be a big target on our back, but we’ll be able to handle most of these teams.”
Women’s Indoor Volleyball season starts Aug. 30 against No. 21 USC at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Women’s Soccer Wants Redemption
Last season, Women’s Soccer lost the WCC on the final game of the season after falling to Gonzaga 3-1. After witnessing another team win the conference multiple times, Waldeck said the 2024 team is looking for redemption.
“In my time here, I’ve had three WCC conferences celebrated in front of me,” Waldeck said. “So I know my class is wanting to get that not only for this team this year, but people who have played at Pepperdine in the past, for our coaches and even just for this school. We want to be able to celebrate that trophy.”
In addition to seeking this redemption, Waldeck said the team is playing for purposes higher than themselves. They want to honor the Lord on the field and make a good representation of Pepperdine as they compete.
“Just to honor the Lord in what we do and just honor this university, because we’re representing this university,” Waldeck said. “So we go out and we wear the P on our chest, and that’s what we’re trying to do, and do this university proud.”
Women’s Soccer’s season began Aug. 15 and are currently 2-2 through four games.
From these first few games and their practices early on, Waldeck said she has noticed a higher level of intensity than before because the team and coaches know what they’re capable of.
“The [talent] level is higher than it’s been in the past,” Waldeck said. “And the demand from our coaches has been more because they know the capability and the potential that we have.”
As the team seeks to make a deep run, Waldeck said every player is a leader on the field, but players often look up to the seniors in particular for guidance.
“You sometimes need that extra voice,” Waldeck said. “That extra action, that people can look at and hear from and just be like, ‘okay, that person knows what they’re doing. I’m gonna follow their lead.'”
Women’s Soccer’s next game is Aug. 29 against Arizona at Tari Frahm Rokus Field.
Men’s Water Polo Looks to Finish the Job
Men’s Water Polo won a share of the WCC title with Loyola Marymount before losing to California Baptist in the semifinals of the WCC tournament, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Head Coach Merrill Moses said the team remembers how it felt to have their season end early and they’re ready to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“Our team is ready to fight for a championship,” Moses said. “Our conference is one of the strongest conferences in the country, as I alluded to when we announced our schedule, but we could beat anyone in our conference and definitely win a championship.”
After being a part of the coaching staff since 2012 and an associate head coach since 2017, Moses was named head coach this past March, according to Pepperdine Athletics. Former Head Coach Terry Schroeder — who had spent 31 overall seasons with the Waves — swapped positions with Moses and is now an associate head coach.
Moses said a couple returners who will play a big role in the season are junior attacker Adam Csapo, junior attacker Sandor Gal and senior attacker Christian Hosea. In combination with these returners, the team has nine newcomers which creates the teams biggest strength — depth.
“To be successful in water polo, you have to have depth because it’s a very physically demanding sport,” Moses said. “Only seven players play in the water at a time, so you have to have subs to be able to make sure that you can keep people fresh.”
As the team looks to make a deeper run than last season, Moses said what will be most important for the team’s success is their defense. Moses’ time as an Olympic goalie helped him learn that a strong defense leads to a strong offense.
“It’s never a successful recipe to be in a shootout and try and outscore your opponent with a large number of goals,” Moses said. “It can be successful at times, but I’m a big believer, [if] you can have a strong defense, it frustrates the other teams into making mistakes and then your offense is going to come with your strong defense.”
Men’s Water Polo season begins Sept. 7 at the Triton Invite in San Diego against Pomona-Pitzer.
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