MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine beach volleyball (1-3) begins a two-day stretch of competition Friday, facing CSUN and No. 4 USC, before continuing Saturday against No. 11 Long Beach State and No. 2 UCLA. The Waves will play noon and 2 p.m. Matches on both days.
The first dual of the weekend pits Pepperdine against CSUN at noon on Friday. Later that afternoon, the Waves will travel to face USC at 2 p.m. Saturday’s action sees Pepperdine return to Malibu to host Long Beach State at noon, followed by a contest at UCLA at 2 p.m.
“SoCal is the birthplace of beach volleyball, and Pepperdine one of the earliest adopters and developers of it as a collegiate sport,” said head coach Marcio Sicoli. “This weekend it’ll be the best of the best of these NCAA pioneers going against one another. We’re extremely excited and going to take it all in. As one of the programs there at the beginning we want to fight back for our position at the top of the sport.”
Pepperdine opened the 2026 season at the Pepperdine Challenge last weekend, securing a 5-0 sweep of Vanguard. The Waves then faced Washington twice, falling 2-3 and 1-4 in both contests. A 5-0 loss to Long Beach State concluded the weekend.
Gabbie Perez and Maddy Snow led the Waves at the second flight, posting a 3-1 record during the Pepperdine Challenge. Michaela Cyrani and Emma Eden, Emi Erickson and Ginvera Merlini, and Emma Bubelis and Deanie Woodruff each secured wins against Vanguard. Freshman duo Sonia Mancuso and Alice Jagielska went 2-0 on the first day of competition.
Historically, Pepperdine holds a 6-0 record against CSUN, including a 3-2 victory last season. The series against USC stands at 21-13 in favor of the Trojans, with Pepperdine’s last win coming in 2019. Long Beach State leads the overall series 25-9, despite a recent 5-0 sweep of the Waves last weekend. UCLA holds a 14-6 advantage over Pepperdine, having won the last eleven matchups dating back to 2018.
LiveStats will be available for each match. The competition on Friday will be streamed by USC for B1G+ subscribers.
Following this weekend’s competition, Pepperdine will travel to Honolulu, Hawaii, next week for the Hawai’i Tournament, where they will face six schools over four days starting Thursday.
Pepperdine established its beach volleyball program in 2011, quickly achieving national success with two national championships in 2012 and 2014. The program joined the WCC in 2016 and won the inaugural and first three WCC Championships, reaching eight straight conference championship games from 2016-24. Twenty-one Pepperdine beach volleyball student-athletes have earned All-American honors since 2012.
