It was good news for Pepperdine University women’s sports as two of its marquee programs notched conference championships for the first time in many years.
The Pepperdine women’s soccer squad, ranked eighth nationally, defeated San Francisco 4-0 in their final regular season match in Malibu. The win, combined with a San Diego victory over Santa Clara, gave the Waves the West Coast Conference title for just the second time in school history and their first since 2002.
And on Saturday, the 18th-ranked women’s volleyball team concluded WCC play with a 3-0 victory on the road at the University of San Diego. The win gave the Waves a 15-1 record in conference and their first WCC championship since 2003.
Naturally, the coaches for both teams were pleased by the season’s results.
“What an awesome achievement for our girls,” Pepperdine women’s soccer coach Tim Ward said. “What I love about it is we set these goals at the beginning of the year and it is almost like we achieved them all. Championships in our conference are just not easy to come by. This year has just been magical.”
The magical season was littered with highlights. The Waves (15-2-4) set a new school record with an 18-game unbeaten streak, dating back to the final game of the 2010 season. They won a record seven out of eight games in conference play. And they protected their home turf, going undefeated at home in conference play for the second year in a row and only the fourth time in school history with an 8-0-1 record.
While their 20-game home winning streak was snapped with a season-ending 1-0 loss to Long Beach State in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the Pepperdine players have no regrets. “The season was awesome,” senior Myriah Stockman, a WCC honorable mention selection, said. “Our main goal was to win a conference championship and return to the NCAA tournament. We accomplished both.”
Stockman was the anchor of a defense that allowed just 12 goals on the season, another school record. She was one of four seniors who led the Waves as they reached a ranking as high as number three in the country at one point.
“As a senior, I feel really blessed that we went out with a bang,” Stockman, a four-year starter, said. “We came into the season determined to make a statement. Everyone was committed to achieving our goals.”
“I am happy for our seniors and all of our alumni,” Ward, who was named the 2011 WCC Coach of the Year, said. “Our team is really a definition of team. We have very good soccer players. But when these girls play together, they hit another level because of each other.”
While the women’s soccer team’s record-setting season has ended, the Waves volleyball squad has all their goals in front of them.
Pepperdine improved to 22-6 overall with their 3-0 win at San Diego Saturday, wrapping up a record of 15-1 in conference play that gave them their first WCC championship since 2003. It was the program’s 11th conference championship in its illustrious history. The Waves now await the NCAA tournament, which begins next week.
“We’ve had a great season thus far,” coach Nina Matthies said. “We have a deep team and we are strong in all six positions. This team has a ton of heart and great confidence in themselves that they have earned.”
Matthies ought to know a good team when she sees one. In her 29th year at Pepperdine, Matthis is the WCC’s all-time winningest coach with an overall mark of 551-319 (.633) and a conference record of 303-73 (.806).
The Waves have been led by a trio of seniors who are looking to finish their career with an NCAA championship. Kim Hill, Lilla Frederick and Stevi Robinson have been the backbone to a team that leads the WCC in kills (15.12), hitting percentage (.283), opponent hitting percentage (.140), blocks (3.00) and assists (14.04).
Hill has been honored as a preseason All-WCC selection, the October WCC Player of the Month and has earned conference Player of the Week recognition three times this season.
“It was our goal to win the conference championship,” Hill said. “We worked so hard in the off-season and we really wanted to win the WCC title.”
Pepperdine will now await the announcement of the 2011 NCAA tournament bracket, which will be broadcast on ESPNU on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 3 p.m.
“We’ve kept the momentum all the way through league and now we want to continue into the tournament,” Matthies said. “We are excited and ready to go.”