Pepperdine University
George Mason
#1 Waves Blank George Mason in Home Opener
1/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Box Score: #1 Pepperdine 3, George Mason 0 
MALIBU, Calif. - The #1 Pepperdine men's volleyball team played inside Firestone Fieldhouse for the first time this season and emerged with a solid 3-0 win over George Mason. It was the Waves' third-consecutive shutout of the year as they improve to 3-0.
Final set scores were 25-16, 26-24, 25-19.
Pepperdine hit .295 (38 kills-15 errors-78 attempts) on the night, while limiting the Patriots to just a .101 (28-21-69) clip. It was GMU's first match of the season.
Josh Taylor (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) cashed in on a team-high 12 kills off of 23 attempts to lead the Pepperdine offense. Parker Kalmbach (Coto de Caza, Calif./Tesoro HS) followed with eight kills, while Scott Rhein (Pleasant View, Tenn./Aaron Academy) added seven.
Matt West (Seattle, Wash./Shorewood HS) handled the setting duties, dishing out 30 total assists.
On the defensive end, Pepperdine out-blocked the Patriots 8-6. Four Waves earned three blocks on the night, including West, Taylor, Matt Tarantino (Van Nuys, Calif./Bishop Alemany) and Mitchell Penning (Peoria, Ill./Westminster Christian Academy). Brennan Anderson (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar HS/Ohio State) paced the Waves with five digs, and went errorless on serve receive after a team-high 20 attempts.
Pepperdine controlled the tempo early on in the opening set, jumping out to a quick - albeit small - lead in the opening points. The Waves widened the gap with a 9-4 run midway through, and sided out every point the rest of the way to put away the frame 25-16. Rhein went an errorless 4-for-7 on the attack, followed by Tarantino's three kills on four attempts.
George Mason gave the home squad a run for their money in set two, erasing a five point deficit to eventually go ahead at 18-17. The Patriots went point-for-point with Pepperdine, and earned set point following a block by Brian Negron and Dom Edgley. Taylor's attack attempt on the next point was just barely dug up by Paco Valez, but the scrambled set attempt that followed was sent into the net.
A timely attack error tipped the scales and gave Pepperdine set point. GMU was unable to side out to stay alive. West came up with a clutch dig which Kalmbach put away off of an Anderson assist to escape with the 26-24 triumph.
The Waves took firm control of the third set from the get go, sprinting out to a 5-1 advantage. Pepperdine maintained the lead, sitting out in front 5-7 points the rest of the way. Taylor sent home the final kill, securing the sweep at 25-19.
The Waves continue the Asics Challenge weekend with a rematch against George Mason on Sunday, January 11. First serve is slated for 5 p.m.
