Pepperdine University
Pacific
#4 Men's Volleyball Sweeps Pacific
2/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Pepperdine-Pacific Box Score 
MALIBU, Calif. - Junior outside hitter Cory Riecks had a match-high 17 kills to lead the #4 Pepperdine men's volleyball team to its fifth consecutive victory and a 30-27, 30-23, 30-25 win over visiting Pacific on Wednesday night in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action.
The Waves improved to 6-4 overall and 6-3 in the MPSF and are now 14-0 all-time in Firestone Fieldhouse against Pacific (6-10, 0-10 MPSF).
"We sided out pretty well," Pepperdine Coach Marv Dunphy said. "We were ready for a good match. Game one we kept siding out and gaining points. It set the tone for the whole match."
Riecks (Auburn, Calif./Placer HS) hit .429, and the Waves also got strong performances from senior outside hitter J.D. Schleppenbach (Ventura, Calif./Ventura HS), who hit .455 with 12 kills, and junior middle blocker Tyler Jaynes (Granite Bay, Calif./Granite Bay HS), who hit .692 with 10 kills.
"We've been on a hot streak lately," Schleppenbach said. "Our consistency has been the key. We've been playing well over the last five matches and need to keep it up against Stanford."
Junior setter Kasey Crider (Granite Bay, Calif./Granite Bay HS) had 52 assists and helped Pepperdine to a .410 team hitting percentage. Senior libero Sean Grubbs (Newport Beach, Calif./Irvine Valley CC) had a match-high nine digs.
Pacific, which hit .232, got 14 kills from Nicola Vukicevic and 13 from Florian Gornik.
The Waves began the match with back-to-back service aces by Schleppenbach, but the Tigers scored the next three points. That was the first of 14 ties and four lead changes as neither team could separate from the other. The last tie was at 15-15, but then Riecks and Jaynes had kills to put Pepperdine ahead to stay. The Waves' lead was never larger than three points, however, and it was just a one-point game at 28-27. But a kill by Riecks put Pepperdine ahead by two and a Pacific attack error ended it.
Riecks began the second game with two kills and a Pacific attack error made it 3-0, and the Tigers never caught up. Later, a block by freshman opposite Maurice Torres (Riverside, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS) and Jaynes followed by a kill from Torres made it 9-4. The Waves built their largest lead of seven points for the first time at 22-15 after kills by senior middle blocker Rodnei Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil/BYU) and Riecks and a Pacific attack error. The game eventually ended after a kill by senior outside hitter Brent Schirripa (Los Angeles, Calif./Crespi Carmelite HS) and another Pacific hitting error.
The Tigers scored the first point of game three, but the Waves came back with the next four points (which included a kill and block assist by Riecks) and never trailed again. The Tigers would tie the score a few times, last at 16-16, but kills by Riecks and Torres put Pepperdine ahead for good. The Waves led by as many as six points before sophomore middle blocker Matt Pollock (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg HS) eventually ended the match with a kill.
This began a four-match homestand for the Waves, who next host #2 Stanford on Friday (Feb. 19) at 7 p.m. Wave Casts subscribers can watch the matches online at www.pepperdinesports.com.
