“What makes us unique is that, when it gets close and everyone gets tense, our team thrives,” says 瑞安巴内特, an outside hitter for 佩珀代因大学’s men’s volleyball team. “It’s the opposite of most people.”

佩珀代因男子排球队庆祝他们进入四强

Barnett offered these comments in the postgame press conference following the Waves quarterfinal victory over Loyola Chicago on Thursday, May 8. In that contest, Pepperdine dropped the first set and was forced to fend off three set points in the second to avoid falling behind 0-2 in the match. As pressure built, Barnett and his teammates didn’t flinch. They settled in and seized sets two, three, and four—a reverse sweep—to earn a spot in the NCAA final four.

Now the Waves take on Long Beach State—a non-conference rival who defeated them in five sets early on in the year. With the stakes at an all-time high, Pepperdine needs to play its best on the game’s biggest stage. But after overcoming a year of unexpected hardships—including devastating wildfires—this particular group of Waves are equipped to do just that.

“A huge identity of our group is our toughness,” says 乔纳森络筒机 (’08), 佩珀代因大学’s men’s volleyball head coach. “We’ve been through an insane amount this year. The adversity we’ve battled through has been fantastic and has really prepared us for these moments.”

充满压力的开始

On January 7, 2025—one week into the collegiate men’s volleyball season—black smoke began to billow over the Pacific Ocean. On that day, the Palisades Fire erupted and burned quickly through the Santa Monica Mountains toward Malibu. At the same time, other blazes broke out as record high winds battered Southern California. In total, 37,000 acres were burned, and 16,000 structures were destroyed.

As the inferno spread, Pepperdine’s men’s volleyball team relocated their early season practices to Long Beach. Unable to travel to campus because of road closures, the Waves stayed in a hotel together near their new training facility and watched as the community around them managed the natural disaster.

“这太可怕了，”球队一名红衫新生格兰特·拉穆雷克斯（Grant Lamoureux）说。 “I feel like no other team has gone through something like that this year . . . The team got close by finding ways to make it through hard times like that.”

面对最初的逆境，海浪队的阵容和赛季都发生了变化。 The catastrophe forced them to slow down, take things one day at a time, and be grateful for one another. More than anything though, the Los Angeles wildfires gave Pepperdine something to play for.

“任何时候你看到这样的痛苦，都会产生一些东西，”温德说。 “For us, it produced more pride in the community where we live. We wanted to rally behind it and support it.”

While practicing and living in Long Beach, the team volunteered to help with fire relief efforts. They loaded semitrucks with clothes and water for those living in affected areas. 他们在邻居需要的时候帮助他们。 And when the time came to take to the court again, the Waves did so with greater unity and purpose than ever.

转向的意愿

Hopping back into the season after a difficult start to the year was not easy given the Waves challenging schedule. Of the 29 matches they played, 17 of them were against nationally ranked opponents, including a string of particularly grueling games against Long Beach State, Loyola Chicago, and California State University, Northridge (CSUN).

在这三场比赛中，佩珀代因以0比3落后。 They lost in five sets to Long Beach State and Loyola Chicago in consecutive matches. Being so close but unable to escape with the wins, Winder and his coaching staff felt like they needed to amp up the intensity in practice heading into the contest against CSUN. Yet, after doing so, the Waves lost again—that time in four sets.

“Following that match, we had some tough conversations with the players,” explains Winder. “They gave us feedback that it was too much—they were too tired going into that match . . . We ended up changing some practice structures and have adhered to them ever since.”

佩珀代因男子排球队正在庆祝

团队开始进行更短、更有目的的练习。 They prioritized being fresh mentally and physically prior to matches, while still ensuring that they had a grasp on the fine details of their opponents.

These adjustments led to an immediate six-match winning streak, but more importantly, overcoming adversity together engendered Winder’s team with a strong sense of trust in one another. When things weren’t breaking their way competitively, the Waves began to believe in their ability to preserve and win nonetheless—a strength that eventually led them to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) tournament title and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

信任受到考验

In order to qualify for the NCAA tournament Pepperdine had to first defeat UCLA and USC in their conference championships. The Waves had battled both of these teams earlier in the year, losing three times while winning only once against USC.

With the odds stacked against them, Pepperdine defeated UCLA in the semifinals and beat USC in the championship to take the MPFS title—an unexpected result given the individual contest stat lines. In both matches Pepperdine had lost in every single statistical category—serves, kills, blocking, digs—but still managed to claim victory.

巴内特说：“我们的胜利在于应对逆境的能力。” “That’s something beautiful about volleyball. Everyone thinks you have to be a monster, who can hit the ball as hard as you can. Everyone thinks you have to be seven foot to block a ball. 但事实并非如此。 Being smart and being crafty are often the biggest differences in these important matches.”

After a season full of lessons—on the court and off of it—Pepperdine is now prepared for its biggest competitive challenge yet. In the final four, the Waves must take down the number one team in the nation in order to compete in the national championship match. However, if the 2025 season has proved anything, it's that this particular Pepperdine team thrives in pressure-packed situations like the one its now in.

“他们给我留下了深刻的印象，”温德说。 “I haven’t had that feeling in a long time. It’s impressive the pride they’ve taken in getting our program back to this spot.”

The Waves take on Long Beach State, in the NCAA semifinals on Saturday, 2025年5月10日, at 2 PM PDT. The match will be streamed live on ESPN +.