At 19 years old, Cole Hartke, was offered an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Pepperdine
University—a school on the California coast some 2,000 miles away from his hometown
in Barrington, Illinois—had invited him to play outside hitter as a member of its
storied volleyball program. For Hartke, the decision was simple. From his perspective,
the  Waves were offering more than a chance to continue playing the game he loved.

“Pepperdine gave me a family,” says Hartke when asked why exactly he chose to leave
the Midwest behind. As he reports it, the distance from home and the new environment
were all outweighed by the community he found with his teammates. Upon entering school,
Hartke felt immersed in a supportive culture that promoted his volleyball passion,
academic interests, and Christian faith all while uplifting him, he believes, into
a better person.

Since making the move this fall, the first-year student has gone on to enjoy one of
the strongest athletic and academic years one could hope for. His success story illustrates
the nurturing effects of an encouraging environment filled with exciting new growth
opportunities.

“At Pepperdine, I felt like I was in the right place,” Hartke explains. “As soon as
I got here, I knew where I wanted to be—where I needed to be.” 

A First Year of Flourishing

The facts back up Hartke’s gut feeling. In his first-year campaign, the outside hitter
recorded a total of 346 kills while appearing in 25 matches. He racked up an average
of 3.60 kills, 0.50 blocks, and 4.34 points per each set, making him the highest-scoring
freshman in the nation and an American Volleyball Coaches Association’s (AVCA) second-team All-America selection.

Cole Hartke celebrating

Concurrently, the business administration major thrived in the classroom. He held
a 4.0 grade point average throughout his initial year at Seaver College—an arduous
task for any student given Pepperdine’s rigorous and nationally competitive academic
curriculum.

“Not often do you have an athlete who is a great teammate, has a great head on their
shoulders, and is incredibly talented,” says Jonathan Winder (’08), head coach of the Pepperdine men’s volleyball team. “We’re really excited
to continue to work with Cole. A big part of the journey for us was identifying him
as a talented player with a great mindset and a strong desire to learn, improve, and
constantly get better.”

This commitment to steady improvement earned Hartke a spot in Pepperdine’s starting
lineup, where he serves as a consistent contributor. He earned double figure kills
in all but five of the matches he competed in while maintaining a .298 attacking percentage.
On Thursday, during his first NCAA tournament appearance, the first-year scored a
total of 11 kills and 14 points en route to Pepperdine’s quarterfinal win over Loyola
Chicago. While these are significant individual accomplishments, Hartke credits his
teammates rather than himself. 

“They really push me in practice, and we get on each other a lot,” he explains. “We
don’t like to lose. The first four months of training really showed [me] what it’s
like at this level.”

A Place of Growth

“On my visit to Pepperdine, I witnessed what the coaches are trying to instill in
the team, and that’s a big reason why I committed to play here,” says Hartke. “Our
coaches teach us that there’s more to life than just volleyball. There are things
beyond the game.”

A  person of faith, Hartke was also drawn to playing in Malibu because of the school’s
focus on personal and spiritual development. He emphasized that the initial lesson
the coaching staff and veteran players imparted on him as a first-year student was
centered around respect—not just for the team or the game, but for everyone he met. 

Hartke serving

Hartke knew that eye contact, intentionality,  and gratitude were all crucial elements
in how he should treat others, but he and his teammates were encouraged to actively
practice living out these behaviors. The coaching staff regularly urged athletes to
walk around the athletic facilities and thank support staff. Pepperdine volleyball
players like Hartke approached custodians, landscapers, and athletics staff members,
introduced themselves, expressed their appreciation for their work,  and shook their
hands. 

This unique facet of the team culture is emphasized by Winder, who attempts to instill
four key values in each of his athletes—respect, competition, learning, and resilience.
The program-wide concentration on living a life of character outside of volleyball
has proven successful at recruiting top talent and developing current players. With
the Waves volleyball program, excellence is demanded on and off the court—a strict
standard propelling student-athletes toward their dreams. 
 
Noticing this exceptional culture as a recruit, Hartke chose to chase the new learning
opportunity straight across the country. In the process, he discovered a second family
and a chance to achieve some of his loftiest goals. Indeed, as a result of his excellent
play throughout the season, Hartke has been invited to serve as a practice player
for USA Volleyball and compete on the USA’s U21 team this summer.

“My ultimate goal is to play in the Olympics,” says Hartke. “In the last couple of
years, I began to understand that this dream was a possibility . . . I didn’t expect
the opportunity to play for USA Volleyball or see it coming, but I’m super excited
for the chance to learn from the best.”

Hartke and the Waves take on California State University, Long Beach, in the NCAA
semifinals on Saturday, May 10, 2025, at 2 PM PDT. The match will be streamed live
on ESPN+.

No. 8 Harvard women’s water polo (26-7) made its first program NCAA Tournament appearance in Friday’s first-round match, ultimately falling 18-7 to No. 3 University of Southern California (28-4).

The loss ended the Crimson’s historic 2025 season, which included achievements such as a new single-season win record of 26 and the program’s first-ever CWPA Championship Title.

Battling throughout the season against several Top 25 teams, Harvard rose from No. 21 to No. 8 in the CWPA polls. But, in the first-round NCAA matchup, the Crimson could not prevail over USC’s strong offense, failing to put together enough goals to close the gap.

The first period began with both teams taking speed and power off their shots, focusing instead on placing the ball strategically out of both talented goalkeepers’ reaches.

In less than a minute, USC scored its first point, but was promptly countered by junior attacker Ruby Hodge’s goal less than 30 seconds later.

On several instances, the Trojans’ fast-paced offense allowed them to speed ahead of the Crimson defenders and get one-on-one shots on the Harvard goal. However, freshman goalkeeper Orli Cooper shut down many of these attempts, tallying 10 total saves in the game.

More than halfway through the first quarter, USC managed two successive goals from quick passes and scrambles in front of the net. The Crimson struggled to get close to the Trojans’ goal, as its opponent’s aggressive defense kept Harvard far from it.

The Trojans scored again on another breakaway, racing ahead of the Crimson and putting themselves up 4-1. But Hodge kept Harvard’s momentum alive by muscling the ball past the goal line soon after.

With only seconds left in the first quarter, the Crimson left the goal unattended to make a seven-man push, but were unsuccessful.

In an unfortunate turn of events, a USC player, left with only a second on the clock, launched the ball across the pool into the empty Harvard net to put the Trojans up 5-2 at the end of the first quarter.

Seemingly demoralized by the buzzer-beater goal, the Crimson could only score a point in the second period after USC put away two of its own more than three minutes in.

Sophomore center defender Emma Gilbert delivered the back-hand goal, but the Trojans remained well above the Crimson throughout the eight minutes, finishing the first half of the match up 10-3.

The third period began on a more promising note for Harvard, as sophomore attacker Maya O’Dea earned a penalty shot in the first few seconds.

USC’s offensive onslaught – especially in transition – outpaced the Crimson despite facing resistance from Cooper, who secured key back-to-back blocks.

Harvard fought hard for power play opportunities, but failed to capitalize on them. Several of the Crimson’s passes missed their marks, causing scrambles and wasting precious shot clock seconds.

Hodge once again disrupted Harvard’s scoring drought, earning her hat trick with an impressive skipper shot past three Trojan defenders and the goalkeeper.

O’Dea then ended the third quarter with her second successful penalty shot, but the Crimson entered the final eight minutes facing a difficult 13-6 deficit.

Much to Harvard’s dismay, USC scored within the first 35 seconds of the period. Continually beating their opponents to their own goal, the Trojans’ transition plays seemed like unstoppable points.

The Crimson’s passes, barely missing the mark, continued to harm its offense by preventing the team from converting on defensive efforts and steals.

USC’s defenders swarmed any Harvard attackers who pushed close to the goal, stifling all shot attempts but one. With less than two minutes remaining, senior attacker Erin Kim outsmarted the Trojans with an unexpected, distanced goal to put the Crimson on the scoreboard for the period.

However, the buzzer sounded soon after, signaling the end of Harvard’s record-breaking season as USC moved on to the NCAA semifinals.

“Now that we have a CWPA title and NCAA experience under our belt, we now have zero doubts that we can win again, and we have so much confidence in this group,” Hodge wrote to The Crimson.

Looking ahead to the 2026 season, the Crimson will say goodbye to three seniors and welcome its incoming freshmen class.

“But first, we are able to take this time to appreciate how special this group is and how this group made Harvard history in so many ways this season,” Hodge wrote. “This is just the beginning.”

ORLANDO — The George Jenkins boys volleyball team knew the competition would ramp up in the Class 3A regional semifinals Friday at Freedom High School.