Footprints in the Sand

In more ways than one, rising Seaver College senior Sarah Seiber is following in her parents鈥� footsteps. The daughter of two 1984 Pepperdine graduates, who admits she 鈥渒ind of grew up on the campus,鈥� proudly represents the Waves on the volleyball court, just like her parents Steve (鈥�84) and Cathy (鈥�84) once did. But don鈥檛 assume that Seiber鈥檚 route is merely the path of least resistance.

For starters, whereas her parents鈥� footsteps led to the indoor court at Firestone Fieldhouse, Seiber is leaving her own footprints in the Zuma Beach sand, as a member of Pepperdine鈥檚 beach volleyball team. Though she had a successful indoor volleyball career, including two state titles for Cathedral Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Fe, California, all she needed was a little taste of beach volleyball to know the sand was where she was meant to be.

鈥淚t鈥檚 more different indoor than people think,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he mechanics and timing ... it鈥檚 definitely an adjustment, but I love being outside. I love being at the beach鈥攖he whole environment is really my style. Rather than being in a gym all day, I get to be right by the ocean.鈥�

It鈥檚 clear the setting suits her. Last year Seiber and her partner, redshirt senior Samantha Cash (鈥�15), notched a 21-4 record, defeating pairs from top-ranked USC and third-ranked Hawaii as the Waves rolled to their fifth straight appearance in a national championship tournament.

Seiber鈥檚 path to Pepperdine didn鈥檛 follow a traditional trajectory. 鈥淧epperdine is very competitive with beach volleyball, and she got into it kind of late after her indoor career,鈥� her mother Cathy explains. 鈥淲e tried to get her in there in the beginning, but there wasn鈥檛 a spot for her at that time.鈥�

Instead, Seiber went to the University of Arizona as the very first player to sign with the Wildcats鈥� newly created beach volleyball program in 2013. 鈥淚 wanted to try something different and move away from home,鈥� she says. 鈥淏oth my high school and grade school were private and really small, so I wanted to experience a big school.鈥�

After 鈥済rowing up鈥� on a campus of 8,000 students, in a beach town of 13,000 people, Seiber now found herself in Tucson, Arizona, population 520,000, on a campus with more than 40,000 students. There was plenty of sand, but no beach. She continued to excel as an athlete鈥� the Wildcats went 16-1 her sophomore year鈥攂ut as a person, she felt lost in the shuffle.



鈥淲hen I got there, I thought, 鈥楾here are so many people here. My teacher doesn鈥檛 even know who I am,鈥欌�� Seiber remembers. 鈥淧epperdine was how I鈥檇 been brought up. The values, the smaller classrooms ... it was a better fit for me both academically and athletically.鈥�

When Seiber decided she wanted to come back to California to finish college, her parents, to no one鈥檚 surprise, were overjoyed. Still, they didn鈥檛 want her to feel like they were pushing her in any one direction, even if the direction was Pepperdine.

鈥淲e, of course, wanted her to go there because she wanted to go there, not because we went there,鈥� Cathy explains. 鈥淪o we looked at Pepperdine, UCLA, Long Beach 鈥攂ut she said, 鈥楴ope, Mom, I want to go to Pepperdine.鈥� I think she realized it after being away for two years. She figured out who she was, what she liked, what she didn鈥檛 like, and how much she missed the beach. She鈥檚 a Southern California girl. That鈥檚 just who she is.鈥�

Seiber doesn鈥檛 dispute that characterization, or her mother鈥檚 description of Pepperdine as a place with a real 鈥渇amily feeling.鈥� 鈥淚t was an adjustment,鈥� she says. 鈥淣ew school, new coaching, new training鈥攂ut everything we鈥檝e done training-wise and coaching-wise has helped me so much more, mentally and physically, than anything I ever did before.鈥�

While the coaching may be new to Seiber, it鈥檚 pleasantly familiar to her mother, who played under first-year head coach Nina Matthies in 1983. Matthies went on to turn the indoor volleyball team into a juggernaut, and after coaching both the indoor and beach squads in 2012 and 2013, she devoted herself full-time to the beach program starting in 2014. 鈥淭o be able to have Nina鈥攖he same coach I had鈥攊t鈥檚 like a dream,鈥� Cathy says. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 even believe it鈥檚 happening.鈥�

Matthies says that having coached both a mother and a daughter doesn鈥檛 make her feel old鈥攔ather, she feels fortunate. At a time when coaching turnover is rapid at the college level, 鈥渋t鈥檚 one of those things where I can just sit back and laugh. I鈥檓 still in the same place,鈥� she says.

The 1983 Waves women鈥檚 volleyball team. Coach Nina Matthies, top, first from left. Cathy Houston Seiber (鈥�84), top, third from right.

鈥淏ut it鈥檚 really, really fun to have that relationship with the parents and have them understand a little bit of what their daughter鈥檚 going through. I think they have a very good relationship, and I鈥檓 glad I get to be part of that.鈥�

Cathy and her husband both experienced plenty of success on the court. In 1982 the women鈥檚 team went to the NCAA championship tournament and finished in the top 25. Two years later Steve and the men鈥檚 team, led by head coach Marv Dunphy (鈥�74), went 23-7 and were the runner-ups in the NCAA tournament.

Steve Seiber (鈥�84), top, third from right, with the 1984 Waves men鈥檚 volleyball team.

Yet in some ways, Seiber鈥檚 parents are now tracing her footsteps, as they follow her from match to match. 鈥淭hey come to every match I play, even in South Carolina and Alabama,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd they like coming up to Zuma. They鈥檙e so excited they get to rep their Pepperdine gear again.鈥�

That is, when Seiber isn鈥檛 repping it herself. 鈥淢y dad has kept a lot of his old Pepperdine stuff,鈥� she says. 鈥淗e gave some of it to me, and sometimes I鈥檒l wear one of his shirts from the early 鈥�80s, and the other players will ask, 鈥榃here did you get that shirt? It鈥檚 so cool!鈥欌��