Pepperdine University
Long Beach State
Waves Rally to Beat Long Beach State, 3-2
4/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Pepperdine-Long Beach State Box Score 
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Junior outside hitter Cory Riecks' career-high 25 kills helped the #3 Pepperdine men's volleyball team rally from a 2-0 deficit to win on the road in five games at #10 Long Beach State, 29-31, 28-30, 31-29, 31-29, 15-13, in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play on Thursday.
Pepperdine (16-8, 14-7) fought off three match points in the third set, scoring five straight points after falling behind 29-26. It was the closest match of the season, as all five games were decided by two points.
The win helps the Waves move toward clinching a first-round MPSF Tournament match at home. They end the regular season at #14 UC San Diego on Saturday (April 17). A victory against the Tritons along with a lot of help could still give Pepperdine a share of the regular-season title and the top seed in the tournament.
Riecks (Auburn, Calif./Placer HS) hit .478 (25-3-46). Aided by junior setter Kasey Crider (Granite Bay, Calif./Granite Bay HS) and his 68 assists, the Waves hit .407 as a team.
Freshman opposite Maurice Torres (Riverside, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS) added 21 kills, while senior outside hitter J.D. Schleppenbach (Ventura, Calif./Ventura HS) had 13.
The Waves outblocked the 49ers 19.0-6.5, led by Schleppenbach and junior middle blocker Tyler Jaynes (Granite Bay, Calif./Granite Bay HS), who had nine apiece, and sophomore middle blocker Matt Pollock (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg HS), who had six.
Schleppenbach, who had a match-high 13 digs, finished one block shy of a triple-double.
Long Beach State (12-16, 8-13), which hit .381, was led by Dean Bittner's 28 kills and Tommy Pestolesi's 20.
The Waves led for most of the first game and were up 26-23, but the 49ers scored three straight points. Tied at 29, a Wave service error was followed by a service ace by Bittner. Pepperdine also led for a good portion of the second game, but the 49ers tied it at 26 and later scored three of the final four points.
In the third game, Long Beach State was ahead for most of the time, and had three match points beginning at 29-26, but the Waves scored the next five points to extend the match to a fourth game. Crider had a kill, followed by three straight blocks: a solo effort by Pollock, a shared block by Schleppenbach and Pollock and another combo block by Crider and Schleppenbach. A kill by Riecks ended the game in the Waves' favor.
The Waves built a small lead late in the fourth game, but the 49ers tied it at 29-29. Pepperdine won the game after an LBSU service error and a block by Schleppenbach and Jaynes.
Pepperdine scored the first two points of the fifth games and took leads of 4-1, 8-4 and 11-6. Long Beach State closed within one point at 13-12 and 14-13, but on the Waves' second match point, a LBSU service error ended the contest.
