Pepperdine University
UC Santa Barbara
Waves Shut Out UC Santa Barbara on the Road
3/14/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
March 14, 2012
#7 Pepperdine 3, #14 UCSB 1 Box Score
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The #7 Pepperdine men's volleyball team earned its first shutout victory of the season with a 3-0 sweep against UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday inside the Thunderdome. The Waves got standout performances from pin hitters Maurice Torres, Josh Taylor and Chase Ross, who combined for 39 kills while hitting for a .468 attack percentage.
Set scores for the match were 25-17, 25-15 and 26-24.
Torres (Riverside, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS) led all hitters with 16 kills earned on a .417 clip, followed by Taylor's 14 kills while hitting .500.
Ross tallied nine put aways on 16 swings to register a .500 hitting percentage.
Overall, the Waves (11-9, 7-8 MPSF) hit for a .422 hitting percentage with 46 total kills. The Gauchos were unable to counteract those impressive numbers, and tallied just 30 kills while hitting .133.
Pepperdine was near unstoppable in the opening set, and committed just one attack error the entire frame. UCSB, however, struggled and was limited to a .071 clip. Both Torres and Taylor recorded four kills apiece to lift the Waves to a 25-17 win to take the early lead.
The Waves continued to set the offensive rhythm of the match in set two, pounding home 14 kills compared to the Gaucho's four, and won 25-15.
Although Pepperdine built a 9-6 lead in the third stanza, UCSB fought back and forced head coach Marv Dunphy to utilize his second timeout after the home squad knotted the score at 23. The Gauchos went up set point, put a Taylor kill balanced the score. Matt Tarantino (Van Nuys, Calif./Bishop Alemany HS) and Torres chipped in kills on back-to-back points to clinch the set, and the sweep, 26-24.
Matt West (Seattle, Wash./Shorewood HS) dished 44 assists in tonight's effort, while Ross led the match with six digs. At the net, Tarantino and Taylor tallied three blocks each.
Pepperdine continues this week with a 7 p.m. match on Friday, March 16 at UCLA.
