Pepperdine University
Cal Baptist
Waves Grind Out 3-2 Triumph Over Cal Baptist
2/15/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Feb. 15, 2012
Pepperdine 3, Cal Baptist 2 Box Score 
MALIBU, Calif. - Led by Maurice Torres' double-double, the #9 Pepperdine men's volleyball team edged visiting Cal Baptist 3-2 in a nonconference match on Wednesday evening.
It was a complete team effort as 12 different student-athletes saw action for the Waves, who won by set scores of 22-25, 25-16, 19-25, 25-21, 15-10.
Torres (Riverside, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS) starred for Pepperdine, tagging down a season-high 26 kills earned on a .465 hitting percentage. On defense, the junior paced the match with 12 digs for his third double-double of the season.
At the service line, Torres matched a career-best with four aces.
Overall, the Waves (7-5, 5-4 MPSF) outhit the Lancers 70-51 in kills while hitting for a .317 clip.
Josh Taylor (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) and Matt Pollock (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg HS) reached double-digit kills totals for Pepperdine, tallying 18 and 11 kills, respectively.
Matt West (Seattle, Wash./Shorewood HS) quarterbacked the offenses with 62 assists, and set a career-high with seven blocks. Pollock matched West with seven rejections, as the Waves finished the night with a team total of 12.0 blocks.
Kyle Gerrans (Los Gatos, Calif./Valley Christian HS) and Mike McMahon (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS) split the libero duties, with Gerrans picking up a career-high eight digs and McMahon adding nine.
Chase Ross (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad HS) entered the match in the second set and recorded nine kills, while swinging for a .353 success rate.
Also seeing action off the bench was Joel Lopata (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield HS), who added three kills and three blocks for the Waves.
After Cal Baptist won the first frame 25-22, the Waves put a halt to the momentum by siding out 100-percent of the time while hitting .667 in the second stanza to win 25-16.
The Lancers (3-10) opened the third set on a 4-0 run that Pepperdine was never able to fully recover from, and once again took the lead following a 25-19 victory.
Defense set the Waves apart in set four, out-digging CBU 14-5 to create enough offensive opportunities to win 25-21 and force a fifth set.
Pollock pounded down a kill to tally the first point of the deciding set, and Pepperdine never relinquished the lead. Back-to-back Torres aces, followed by another Pollock kill would put the Waves up 13-7. Although the Lancers were able to put three more points on the board, a Taylor put away would clinch the 15-10 win to give Pepperdine the "W."
Pepperdine opens a two-week road swing on Feb. 24 when they travel to Northern California to take on Stanford, followed by a Feb. 25 contest at Pacific. The following weekend, Pepperdine plays two matches in Provo, Utah against BYU on March 2 & 3. The Waves return to Firestone Fieldhouse on March 8 when they host EIVA powerhouse Penn State.
