Match Notes

MALIBU, Calif. - The #4-ranked Pepperdine men's volleyball team plays two matches away from Malibu this week, starting on Friday, February 13 with a visit to UC San Diego. The Waves continue the road swing with a Valentine's Day match at #5 UC Irvine.

MATCH 12 - #4 Pepperdine (10-1, 6-1 MPSF) vs. UC San Diego (1-10, 0-7 MPSF) | Friday, February 13 | 7 p.m. | La Jolla, Calif.

MATCH 13 - #4 Pepperdine vs. #5 UC Irvine (10-3, 5-2 MPSF) | Saturday, February 14 | 7 p.m. | Irvine, Calif.

COVERAGE - Live video and statistical coverage will be available for both matches this weekend through UCSDTritons.com and UCIrvineSports.com ... Links to live coverage can also be found on the men's volleyball schedule page at PepperdineSports.com ... The UC San Diego video broadcast requires registration but is free.

LOOKING BACK - Pepperdine extended its home win streak to 12 with a 3-1 win over Stanford inside Firestone Fieldhouse last week ... Both Parker Kalmbach and Josh Taylor hit over .400 and put down 17 and 16 kills, respectively ... Taylor earned the Waves' first kills-digs double-double of the season with 16 kills and 11 digs ... Matt West scattered 47 assists and Pepperdine hit .434 as a team - the squad's highest hitting percentage against an MPSF opponent this season.

LOOKING FURTHER BACK - The Waves picked up two road wins to close the month of January, defeating both UCLA and UC Santa Barbara ... Brennan Anderson averaged 4.14 digs per set, including a record-tying 19 digs in the 3-1 win against the Gauchos ... 19 digs ties the rally-scoring era Pepperdine record James Ka set against USC in 2005 ... Anderson was honored as both the MPSF and AVCA Player of the Week ... He is the first libero to win either award since 2012 ... Parker Kalmbach averaged 4.86 kills/set while hitting .379 ... Josh Taylor followed with a 3.71 kills average ... Matt West dished 11.57 assists/set and Pepperdine hit .355 as a team.

LOOKING AHEAD - The Waves return to Firestone Fieldhouse on Feb. 20 to host the rematch against the Tritons ... Pepperdine finishes the month of February on the road with the return trip to Stanford.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Parker Kalmbach was the Waves' first MPSF Player of the Week in 2015, taking the honor on Jan. 26 after wins at home against CSUN and Long Beach State ... Kalmbach averaged nearly 5.0 points/set behind 4.43 kills/set ... He sent down a career-high 24 kills versus the 49ers while hitting .564 ... It was Kalmbach's first MPSF Player of the Week award after garnering an AVCA Player of the Week nod once in 2014 ... Brennan Anderson earned MPSF honors (2/2) a week after Kalmbach, and doubled down with the AVCA Player of the Week the following day (2/3) ... Anderson is the first libero to earn weekly recognition by either the MPSF or the AVCA since 2012 ... He is the Waves' 27th national player of the week, but the only libero on the list ... Anderson averaged 4.14 digs/set in road wins at UCLA and UC Santa Barbara ... He charted 19 digs in the 3-1 win over the Gauchos, matching the rally-scoring era record James Ka set against USC in 2005 ... Pepperdine's national player of the week count of 27 leads Div. I-II.

NOTING THE WAVES - This week Pepperdine will play in its 1,084th and 1,085th matches in program history ... The Waves are officially 672-345 all time ... In conference play the Waves are officially 471-266 and 266-149 in MPSF action ... Marv Dunphy boasts an official career record of 509-248 (unofficially 575-249) ... The Waves are officially 359-115 when playing inside Firestone Fieldhouse.

OPPONENT NOTES: UC San Diego 1-10 this season, with its sole victory coming in five sets vs. Grand Canyon ... Tyler Bird ranks third in the MPSF with 2.50 digs/set ... Pepperdine is 20-1 vs. UCSD on the road, with its only loss coming in 2010 ... UC Irvine enters the week at 10-3, including a 5-2 mark in MPSF matches ... UCI lost to Lewis in the season opener, fell to USC in five, and split series against Hawaii (played in Irvine, Calif.) ... Zack La Cavera leads the league with 4.49 points/set

CHECK THE RECORD - Senior Josh Taylor enters this week with 1,151 kills, ranking in at #13 in Pepperdine program history ... Taylor surpassed Cory Riecks (2008-11, 1,143) and Kevin Barnett (1996-97, 1,145) vs. Stanford (2/6) ... Taylor began the 2015 season in 17th place ... Dain Blanton (1991-94) sits in 12th place with 1,190 kills, just behind Brad Keenan (2000-03) with 1,198 ... Senior Matt West has dished 3,911 assists in his career, good for fourth place on the all-time list ... He passed Chip McCaw (1993-95, 3,674) at USC (1/16) and J.J. Riley (1995-99, 3,788) at UCLA (1/27) ... Kurt Nelson (1997-00) sits in third with 3,938, just in front of Kasey Crider (2008-11) with 3,989 .... Assistant coach Jonathan Winder (2005-08) is Pepperdine's all-time assists leader with 5,118.

STREAKING - The Waves are 5-0 at home this season ... With the 3-1 win over Stanford (2/6) , Pepperdine has now won the last 12 contests in a row inside Firestone Fieldhouse, dating back to March 8 of last season ... Wins in the span include ones over Stanford (3-1), Pacific (3-0), Long Beach State (3-0, 3-1, 3-1), Cal State Northridge (3-0, 3-0), USC (3-2), Hawaii (3-0, 3-1) and George Mason (3-0, 3-1) ... Pepperdine's longest home win streak went from April 24, 2004-Feb. 9, 2006 when the program pieced together 19 consecutive home victories.

DID YOU KNOW? - Did you know that the 10 points the Waves gave up in the fourth set against George Mason (1/11) and in the first set at UCLA (1/27) were the fewest a Pepperdine team has ever allowed in a 25-point rally scoring set? ... The previous record low for a 25-point set was 13 (achieved several times) ... The fewest points the Waves have ever allowed in the rally scoring era was eight in a 30 points set vs. UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 23, 2008 and seven in a 15 points set vs. Pacific on Jan. 14, 2005 ... Pepperdine's 16 blocks against CSUN (1/21) was the program's third-best blocking performance in a three-set match during the rally-scoring era.

NCAA/MPSF RANKS - The Waves rank in top-10 nationally in blocks, hitting percentage and aces ... Pepperdine also leads the league by a wide margin in opponent hitting percentage at .171 (the NCAA does not track this stat) ... BYU rates second in the category with a .202 opponent hitting percentage ... Pepperdine ranks fifth in the NCAA and second in the MPSF for their 2.89 blocks/set average ... Mitchell Penning ranks 6th nationally and second in the league with 1.32 blocks/set ... Pepperdine also ranks fourth in the NCAA and second in the MPSF for its .342 team hitting percentage ... ... Matt Tarantino's 0.65 ace average leads the nation ... See where Pepperdine ranks in the NCAA/MPSF in all statistical categories on page six.

KALMBACH - Senior opposite Parker Kalmbach spent most of his offseason away from the gym, resting, rehabbing a lingering back issue and working at his internship ... He returned to the gym in December, and while his early season numbers were average as he got back in form, Kalmbach began to hit his stride against Long Beach State (1/24) ... The opposite put down a career-high 24 kills while hitting .564 ... He also picked up a season-best nine digs to go along with three blocks ... Kalmbach averaged 2.61 kills while hitting .246 in the first seven matches of the season, prior to the LBSU contest, and has charted 5.00 kills while hitting .442 (four matches) since ... Kalmbach was an All-MPSF performer as a middle blocker in 2013 after playing intermittently on the outside as a freshman ... He was an All-MPSF selection in 2014 as an opposite.

TAYLOR - Senior Josh Taylor is in his fourth year starting on the outside pin ... He ranked second on the squad in kills (both years behind opposite Maurice Torres) as a freshman and sophomore with averages of 3.52 and 3.08, respectively ... He paced the Waves, ranked fourth in the MPSF and seventh nationally in kills in 2014 with a 4.01 average, and was an AVCA All-American second team pick ... His digs average climbed from 0.98 as a freshman to 1.31 as a junior ... His current aces average of 0.31 towers over his career average of 0.19 ... Taylor's season-by-season block averages have remained consistent ... He's currently averaging 3.61 kills and 4.29 points as a senior ... Taylor posted his fifth career double-double vs. Stanford (2/6) with 16 kills and 11 digs ... He transitioned from an opposite in high school, to a primary passer and outside hitter while at Pepperdine.

WEST - Senior setter Matt West is in his fourth year managing the Waves' offense ... West is on pace to rank in the top-two for career assists by the end of the season ... West is a two-time AVCA All-American (first team in 2013, second team in 2014) ... West ranked second in the NCAA and the MPSF as a freshman with an assists average of 11.38 ... He led the nation as a sophomore with 11.25 assists/set ... Ranked third in the league and eighth in the NCAA with a 2014 average of 11.00 ... Averaged 1.40 and 1.41 digs, respectively, in 2012 and 2013, before collecting 2.12 digs in 2014 as a junior ... Two-time MPSF Player of the Week ... Two-time All-MPSF first team performer, honorable mention as a freshman ... As a senior, he is averaging 10.74 assists, 0.40 aces, 0.80 blocks and 1.43 digs.

OFFENSIVE SUPPORT - With a starting lineup of six seniors and one sophomore, the Waves boast a very balanced and experienced offense ... Matt Tarantino scores points in several ways and ranks third on the team with 2.74 points/set ... Tarantino leads Pepperdine in aces (0.65, 20), ranks second in blocks (1.06, 33) and fourth in kills (1.55) ... Tarantino was an All-MPSF second team pick last season ... He missed the start vs. Stanford and could be seen on the sidelines wearing a boot ... His status on the disabled list is day-to-day ... Nikola Antonijevic got the start in his stead and laid down seven kills on eight errorless swings, while adding a match-high five blocks ... Scott Rhein has taken over the starting vacancy on the outside left by the graduation of Kyle Gerrans ... He's averaging 2.00 kills ... The lone sophomore in the starting lineup, Mitchell Penning, is averaging 1.51 kills and 1.32 blocks.

D-D-D-DEFENSE - Led by senior libero Brennan Anderson (2.27 digs/set), the Waves are out-digging opponents 8.71-7.61 per set ... Parker Kalmbach also accounts for 1.76 digs per set, while Matt West collects 1.43 ... Josh Taylor is the fourth starter to average more than a dig per set at 1.47 ... At the net, Pepperdine -- one of the MPSF's top-blocking team -- is out-blocking opponents 2.89-1.42 ... Mitchell Penning ranks No. 2 in the MPSF with a blocks average of 1.32.

ALL ABOUT SERVE AND RECEIVE - Most collegiate coaches will preach about the importance of serving and receiving well and head coach Marv Dunphy is no exception ... Primary passers Brennan Anderson, Josh Taylor and Scott Rhein have received well all season long, allowing just 34 aces for a .942 average ... The Waves have deposited 1.61 aces per set, and are steadily bringing down their service errors.

STARTING SEVEN - After plugging in a few different players in the starting lineup against North Greenville to open the season, Pepperdine has settled into a rotation consisting of setter Matt West, outside hitters Josh Taylor and Scott Rhein, middle blockers Matt Tarantino and Mitchell Penning, opposite Parker Kalmbach and libero Brennan Anderson ... Nikola Antonijevic started vs. Stanford last week in place of Tarantino, and once vs. NGU ... Setter Soren Dion-Kindem has also earned a starting bid.

PRESEASON ACCLAIM - The Waves picked up 10 first-place votes and 262 total points to come in at #1 in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll ... Pepperdine edged 2014 NCAA champion Loyola-Chicago, who took the remaining eight first-place votes and 256 total points ... The Waves also came in at #1 in the MPSF preseason poll in the most decisive vote in league history ... Pepperdine was the consensus favorite, and was voted #1 by all opposing MPSF coaches ... The Waves earned 121 total points, in front of second-place UC Santa Barbara with 98 points ... Josh Taylor and Matt West were named to the Springbak/Off the Block Preseason All-American first-team squad ... While several schools had more than one preseason All-American, Pepperdine was the only program to earn two first team nods.

SOCIAL MEDIA - Fans can follow the Waves on Twitter @PepperdineMVB and "like" us on Facebook by searching for Pepperdine Athletics or Pepperdine Men's Volleyball.

2014 POSTSEASON HONORS - Matt West and Josh Taylor took two of the 12 spots the All-MPSF first-team roster ... Matt Tarantino and Parker Kalmbach were rewarded with second-team recognition ... West and Taylor also were tabbed second team AVCA All-Americans ... Volleyball Magazine listed West as at third team All-American.

VOLLEYBALL HISTORY - Pepperdine has won five NCAA men's volleyball championships, second only to UCLA. The Waves have won the MPSF Tournament three times and have won or shared 10 regular-season conference titles. Pepperdine has won either an MPSF regular-season or tournament title (or both) in six of the last 15 seasons. The Waves have finished in the top six in the final AVCA poll in 16 of the last 18 seasons. Pepperdine student-athletes have won national player of the year honors nine times and All-American accolades 81 times. A Pepperdine alum has competed for the U.S. at the Olympics every time since 1984 (Sean Rooney won gold in 2008).

Marv Dunphy - Now in his 32nd season as head coach of the Waves, Marv Dunphy has time and again proven himself to be one of the top teachers in the sport. He has directed Pepperdine to four NCAA championships, each in a different decade (1978, 1985, 1992, 2005). He was the 2005 National Coach of the Year and is a three-time MPSF Coach of the Year. He entered the 2015 season with a career record of 565-248* (.695). Dunphy has long been involved with USA Volleyball, having been part of the coaching staff at six Olympics, including head coach of the 1988 team and consultant coach for the 2008 squad, both of which won gold. Dunphy, along with David Hunt and Joe Trinsey, were on staff when the U.S. Women's National Team won their first-ever gold medal at a major event (including the Olympics), after winning the 2014 FIVB World Championships. He has been inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame (1994), AVCA Hall of Fame (2009) and the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame (2010).

ABOUT PEPPERDINE - Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports -- one of just 17 schools to have accomplished this feat -- and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 23 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #54 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.