Pepperdine Volleyball Hosts Opening NCAA Tournament Matches

The  women's volleyball team's quest for a national championship will begin Thursday in Malibu. The Waves (22-6), seeded 15th in the 64-team NCAA tournament, will play Missouri State on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Firestone Fieldhouse on the Pepperdine campus.

Pepperdine has had a great 2011 campaign, winning the West Coast Conference title with a 15-1 league record and earning a spot in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008. The team includes WCC Player of the Year Kim Hill and WCC Freshman of the Year Samantha Cash. Lilla Frederick  and Kellie Woolever joined Hill and Cash on the All-WCC First Team. 

The Waves are coached by Nina Matthies, who earned WCC Coach of the Year honors for the 10th time this season.

Missouri State has a 22-8 record and is ranked No. 44 in the latest national RPI rankings (Pepperdine is No. 16). The Bears finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference this season.

Prior to the Pepperdine/Missouri State match, North Carolina will take on UC Berkeley at 5 p.m. in the first match of the Firestone Fieldhouse double header. The winners of the matches will compete on the Pepperdine campus on Friday at 7 p.m. The winner of that match will travel to Honolulu for the next tournament rounds on Dec. 9 and 10.

Tickets can be purchased at the Firestone Fieldhouse box office or by calling 866-WAVE-TIX. An all-session pass, good for the three matches, costs $15 for adults and $9 for students, seniors and children. Single-match tickets cost $10 for adults and $6 for students, seniors and children.