Pepperdine University
George Mason
Pepperdine Tops George Mason in Four, Remains Undefeated
1/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Box Score: #1 Pepperdine 3, George Mason 1 
MALIBU, Calif. - Behind a season-high 17 kills out of All-American Josh Taylor, the #1 Pepperdine men's volleyball team completed the series sweep over George Mason, outlasting the Patriots 3-1. After three tightly contested sets, the Waves ran away with set four, winning 28-26, 25-23, 23-25, 25-10.
Taylor (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) earned his 17 kills off of a .400 (17 kills-5 errors-30 attempts) hitting percentage, and upped his season kills average to 3.78. The outside hitter added three aces and a block for a match-best 20.5 points.
The All-American also moved up a spot to #15 on Pepperdine's all-time kills list. Taylor now touts 1,062 career kills.
Middle blocker Matt Tarantino (Van Nuys, Calif./Bishop Alemany) scored 14.0 points after a career-high night at the service line. The senior sent down four aces while only committing two errors. Tarantino also accounted for seven kills and six blocks.
Not only was Tarantino's performance from the service line on point, the entire team's was. The Waves (4-0) were charged with just eight errors at the line, while putting down 10 total aces.
Matt West (Seattle, Wash./Shorewood HS) scattered a season-high 46 assists and picked up 12 digs for his first double-double of the year.
Overall, Pepperdine swung at a .318 (51-17-107) clip. George Mason (0-2) calculated a .252 (54-23-123) team hitting percentage.
The Patriots managed just four aces while committing 17 service errors. GMU started off on the right foot with five blocks at the net in set one, but eventually was out-roofed 12.0-9.5.
Radoslav Popov, Paco Velez and Jack Wilson all contributed 14 kills for GMU.
Scott Rhein (Pleasant View, Tenn./Aaron Academy) was the second Pepperdine player to reach double-figure kill totals, finishing the night with 10 kills while hitting .400 (10-2-20).
Set one was a battle from the get go, with no more than two points ever separating the two squads. Both Pepperdine and George Mason had set point opportunities, but the side-out game was strong on both sides of the net. With its third set point of the frame, 27-26, Pepperdine was able to dig up three Patriot attacks in succession - courtesy of the defense of Brennan Anderson (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar HS/Ohio State), Rhein and Taylor. Tarantino had the honors of putting down the game-clinching kill.
The Waves held a slight advantage in the second stanza after taking a 17-14 lead, but GMU was able to knot things up at 20-20. After Rhein sided out with a kill, Parker Kalmbach (Coto de Caza, Calif./Tesoro HS) was able to put the solo stop on a Patriot attack to provide all the separation Pepperdine would need. The home squad sided its way out to victory from there, taking the frame 25-23.
The Waves took at sizable 17-12 lead in the third, but George Mason refused to be swept for the second match in a row. The momentum shifted as the Patriots knotted the score at 22-22 and took their first lead of the set at 23-22. Although Kalmbach sided out for Pepperdine with a kill, Popov killed off back-to-back points to give his team the 25-23 triumph.
The fourth set was much sharper for the Waves, who jumped out to an 8-2 advantage behind three Pepperdine blocks and a Taylor ace. The home squad had a strong hold on the tempo with five aces and four blocks as they cruised to the 25-10 victory to secure the match, 3-1.
Mitchell Penning (Peoria, Ill./Westminster Christian Academy) scored 10.5 points after charting seven kills, four blocks and an ace.
J.J. Mosolf (Saugus, Calif./Hart HS/Hawaii) started set four and posted two kills and two blocks.
Senior libero Anderson finished the evening with seven digs while committing just one miscue after 25 serve receive attempts.
The Waves open MPSF action next week with road matches at Cal Baptist (Jan. 14) and USC (Jan. 16).
