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MALIBU, Calif. \u2013 Pepperdine beach volleyball (1-3) will travel a short distance to face four local rivals over the course of two days. Their first test begins Friday downtown against CSUN (0-1) before facing No. 4 and location host, USC (4-2). The following day the Waves head to Westwood in a neutral rematch against No. 11 Long Beach State (2-0) before concluding at No. 2 UCLA (3-2).<\/p>\n
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The Waves compete at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on each day of action.<\/p>\n
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DUAL 1<\/a>: Pepperdine vs. CSUN | Friday, Feb. 27 | 10 a.m.<\/p>\n DUAL 2<\/a>: Pepperdine at No. 4 USC | Friday, Feb. 27 | 2 p.m.<\/p>\n DUAL 3<\/a>: Pepperdine vs. No. 11 Long Beach State| Saturday, Feb. 28 | 10 a.m.<\/p>\n DUAL 4<\/a>: Pepperdine at. No. 2 UCLA | Saturday, Feb. 28 | 2 p.m.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n “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<\/a>. “This weekend it’ll be the best of the best of these NCAA pioneers going against one another. We’re very 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.”<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Pepperdine opened the 2026 season last weekend at home in the annual Pepperdine Challenge. The season started strong with a 5-0 sweep of Vanguard, in which no Wave flights needed a deciding third set. They next faced the Washington Huskies back-to-back. Both contests were close, but the blue and orange fell 2-3 and 1-4, respectively. A sweep at the hands of Long Beach State concluded the weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Gabbie Perez<\/a> and Maddy Snow<\/a> held things down at the second flight, posting a 3-1 record on the weekend. The pairs of Michaela Cyrani<\/a> and Emma Eden<\/a>, Emi Erickson<\/a> and Ginvera Merlini, and duo Emma Bubelis<\/a> and Deanie Woodruff<\/a> all picked up wins against the Lions. The freshman duo of Sonia Mancuso<\/a> and Alice Jagielska<\/a> went 2-0 on day one.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Pepperdine sports a 6-0 historic record against the Matadors. CSUN and the blue and orange faced each other last season in a 3-2 Waves win.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Trojans lead the series 21 to 13. Pepperdine last defeated USC in 2019, a season that saw the two schools face one another four separate times.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Long Beach State already has rapport with the Waves this season. The schools matched up last weekend in what was a 5-0 Beach sweep. The overall record now stands at 25-9, advantage Pepperdine.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Bruins of Westwood were last defeated by the blue and orange in 2018. Since then, UCLA has won eleven straight, to add to their 14-6 all-time record.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n