Pepperdine University
UC Irvine
Men's Volleyball Falls at UC Irvine, 3-1
1/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Pepperdine-UC Irvine Box Score 
IRVINE, Calif. - The #7 Pepperdine men's volleyball team lost a hard-fought match at #3 UC Irvine in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener for both schools, falling 30-27, 24-30, 30-25, 30-27, on Wednesday.
Pepperdine (0-2, 0-1) got 19 kills from freshman opposite Maurice Torres (Riverside, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS) and 15 kills from senior outside hitter Brent Schirripa (Los Angeles, Calif./Crespi Carmelite HS).
Senior middle blocker Rodnei Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil/BYU) had 10 kills and six blocks while junior setter Kasey Crider (Granite Bay, Calif./Granite Bay HS) posted a double-double with 57 assists and 12 digs.
UC Irvine (4-1, 1-0), the defending NCAA champion, had a .301-.237 hitting edge. The Anteaters were led by Carson Clark's 26 kills and 11 digs.
Game two was tied 21-21 when the Waves reeled off five straight points, two on kills by sophomore outside hitter Chase Ross (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad HS) and Santos and three straight UCI attack errors. Kills by Schirripa and Torres eventually ended the game and tied the match at 1-1. Pepperdine slumped to an .083 hitting percentage as UCI won the third game, however. And though the fourth game was tied 25-25, the Anteaters scored four of the next five points to help put away the match.
Pepperdine next visits #10 UCLA on Friday (Jan. 15) for a 7 p.m. match.
