Jan. 26, 2011

Final Stats

Box Score

LOS ANGELES - Despite a match-high 18 points from Maurice Torres, the #8 Pepperdine men's volleyball team succumbed to local rival and #4-ranked UCLA, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-20), on Wednesday evening inside Pauley Pavilion. The Waves drop to 2-4 overall and 0-4 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action. The Bruins are now 7-2 and 2-1 in the league.

Torres (Riverside, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS) led Pepperdine with 13 kills on 26 swings. His 12th kill of the match, which occurred in the third set, was the sophomore opposite hitter's 500th career put away. This season he has tallied 110 kills for a 4.07 average - an average that ranked fifth in the MPSF heading into today's contest.

At the service line, Torres came up with a career-high four aces.

The Waves also got a solid performance out of senior outside hitter Cory Riecks (Auburn, Calif./Placer HS), who nailed down 11 kills behind a .360 clip. He is on pace to become Pepperdine's 16th member of the 1,000 kills club and is now just 21 put downs shy of meeting the career milestone.

As a team, the Waves posted a respectable attack percentage of .268 (35 kills-13 errors-82 attempts) but UCLA controlled the tempo of the match with a .482 (47-7-83) clip. Kyle Caldwell led the Bruins with 14 kills, while Gonzalo Quiroga chipped in 11.

The Waves jumped to a 5-2 advantage in the first frame, but a 5-1 UCLA run following a timeout gave the home squad a lead they would hold the remainder of the set. The Bruins continued to set the pace, hitting a combined .584 attack percentage in games two and three, compared to Pepperdine's .258 success rate.

The Waves close this week's action on Fri., Jan. 28 when they face UC Santa Barbara on the road. The Gauchos are 4-4 this season following a home loss to top-ranked USC. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.