MSN_062719

28 | June 27, 2019 | Malibu surfside news sports
malibusurfsidenews.com
Athlete of the Week
Pepperdine Athletics
Women’s volleyball team gears
up for competitive season
10 Questions
with Buckley Ventress
Ventress is a recent Malibu
High School graduate who
played boys basketball.
When and why did
you start playing
basketball?
I started playing basketball
in the ninth grade. My
friend was on the team and
it looked like he was having
a bunch of fun. He recommended
I joined the team
and it worked out.
What do you like most
about the sport?
I really enjoy the competition
and just playing with
my friends, the teamwork,
playing together for one
goal.
What is your favorite
sports moment?
My junior season. I’m
with the junior varsity team,
and we’re down to a team
and they took a timeout to
sing happy birthday to this
guy in the stands, which was
super disrespectful. Then
the next year we played
them again and they were
beating us pretty bad by 15
points and one of my teammates
got really hurt before
halftime and we all got super
fired up and in the next half
I got 11 steals and 17 points
and we won that game.
What is one thing
people don’t know
about you?
People don’t really know
that I’m hardworking.
If you could have any
superpower, what
would it be?
I would want to be able
to fly.
What would you do if
you won the lottery?
I would help people in
need and distribute to charities
and take some for myself
and my family.
Surfside News File Photo
What is your favorite
area restaurant?
I really like Benihana.
I usually get the fried rice
and filet mignon.
If you could play any
other sport, which
would you play?
I would play football. It
seems like a good way to
get out some anger.
What is one thing on
your bucket list?
I want to travel the world
and see places people don’t
usually see — a good cultural
experience.
If you could be any
animal, which would
you be?
Probably a shark.
They’re like the predators,
the top dogs and I love the
ocean.
Interview by Assistant Editor
Michal Dwojak
Pepperdine women’s
volleyball coach Scott
Wong and his staff released
the 2019 schedule on June
10, with big competition in
store and two home tournaments
on the docket.
“The 2019 schedule is a
great blend of conference
opponents in addition to a
challenging non-conference
schedule,” Wong says in the
press release. “We will be
tested in many ways during
non-conference play and
will be prepared to compete
in the WCC, which is one of
the toughest conferences in
the country.”
Of the 29 scheduled
matches, 16 will be played
in Firestone Fieldhouse,
including the 22nd annual
Pepperdine Asics Classic
from Sept. 13-14 and the
Pepperdine Tournament on
Sept. 5-6. All home matches
will be available to watch
online for free as WaveCasts
will air on TheW.tv.
Pepperdine will play
12 matches against eight
teams that made the NCAA
Championships last season,
including five teams
that advanced to at least
the second round. Five
WCC teams made the tournament
last year including
Pepperdine, with four
reaching at least the second
round. BYU reached
the semifinal before falling
to eventual champion and
top-ranked Stanford. San
Diego reached the third
round before falling to
Wisconsin, who the Waves
had played the previous
round. LMU and Pepperdine
were the other two
teams in the league to reach
the second round, while
Saint Mary’s bowed out in
the first round. The other
squads that the Waves will
face this season that made
the tournament were Utah
and Pitt (second-round
finishes) and Illinois State
and Cal Poly (first-round
appearances).
Pepperdine will open the
season in Denton, Texas,
with the North Texas Challenge
on Aug. 30-31, going
up against tournament-host
North Texas for the seasonopener
before facing Tulsa
and Illinois State. Then, the
Waves will host the two
home tournaments, welcoming
Cal Baptist, Fairfield
and Texas A&M for
the first Pepperdine Tournament.
The Pepperdine Asics
Classic has been in existence
since 1998. In the
previous 21 tournaments,
the Waves have amassed 48
wins, with only 14 losses
including last season’s undefeated
3-0 output. This
season, Pepperdine will
welcome Pitt, Cal Poly and
Utah to Malibu for the tournament.
After the Classic, the
team will host UC Irvine
at home on Sept. 18 before
making a short trip to UC
Santa Barbara on Sept. 20
to close out the non-conference
season.
Directly after the final
two non-conference matches,
the Waves will open
West Coast Conference
action with San Francisco
and Santa Clara at home
on Sept. 26 and 28, respectively.
Other home WCC
matches will be Portland
(Oct. 3), Gonzaga (Oct. 5),
San Diego (Oct. 24), BYU
(Oct. 26), LMU (Nov. 8),
Saint Mary’s (Nov. 14) and
Pacific (Nov. 16).
MEN’S WATER POLO
Waves to host
tournaments, more in 2019
Two home tournaments,
including the 2019 Golden
Coast Conference Tournament,
highlight this year’s
schedule for the Pepperdine
men’s water polo team.
“I think that we have a
solid schedule this year,”
coach Terry Schroeder
said in a press release. “We
have a really nice balance
between young players and
older players.”
Schroeder is to begin his
27th season in charge.
For the first time since
2016, the Waves will not
head East to start the year,
instead starting with the
Triton Invite in La Jolla.
After four straight tournaments,
the Waves take on
UCLA on Sept. 21 for the
first home game of the year.
The annual Mountain
Pacific Sports Federation
Invite will be held on the
campus of UCLA at the
end of September. The
tournament brings together
the top 16 water polo teams
from around the nation.
Pepperdine begins GCC
play on Oct. 18 when the
team heads to UC Irvine.
The Waves then take on
USC at home on Oct. 19.
Information from Pepperdine
University and
www.pepperdinewaves.
com. Compiled by Assistant
Editor Michal Dwojak,
m.dwojak@22ndcentury
media.com.