Pepperdine University
Stanford
Pepperdine Drops Stanford, 3-0
2/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Box Score: #5 Pepperdine 3, Stanford 0
PALO ALTO, Calif. - The #5 Pepperdine men's volleyball team swung at a season-high .468 hitting percentage and shut out Stanford 3-0 on the road on Friday evening. It was the Waves' first win in Palo Alto since 2008.
With the 25-17, 25-19, 25-18 win, logged in just an hour and 15 minutes, Pepperdine improves to 13-2 overall and 9-2 in the MPSF. The Cardinal drops to 5-11, including a 3-8 mark in conference play.
Parker Kalmbach (Coto de Caza, Calif./Tesoro HS) owned the match with 19 kills earned at a career-high .680 (19 kills-2 errors-25 attempts) clip. The redshirt senior also added four blocks and his first ace of the season for an even 22 points.
Kalmbach entered the match with an MPSF-best 3.86 kills per set season average, now up to 4.02 following tonight's performance.
The Waves committed just 10 hitting errors in route to their season-best .468 (46-10-77) attack rate. It was the second-straight match, and fourth overall, Pepperdine has hit over .400 in 2015. The Waves opened the week ranked third in the NCAA and second in the conference with a season hitting percentage of .349 and could potentially lead the nation in the category next week.
Managing the offense was senior setter Matt West (Seattle, Wash./Shorewood HS), who averaged 12.67 assists per set this evening for a total of 38.
Josh Taylor (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) scored in double figures behind 14 kills, an assisted block and an ace.
Brennan Anderson (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar HS/Ohio State) accounted for nine of the Waves' 25 digs. At the net, Kalmbach, Nikola Antonijevic (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson HS) and Mitchell Penning (Peoria, Ill./Westminster Christian Academy) were all credited with four blocks. As a team, Pepperdine out-blocked the Cardinal 9-4.
Scott Rhein (Pleasant View, Tenn./Aaron Academy) rounded out the evening with four kills, two blocks and an ace.
The Waves stormed out to an 8-3 lead in the first set and never looked back. With the exception of a 2-0 deficit to open the second frame, and a 1-0 setback in the third, Pepperdine would not trail again. Kalmbach laid down seven kills in both the first and second frames - including an errorless 7-for-8 effort in the opening stanza. Taylor doubled his kill output in the third with seven.
Pepperdine remains on the road next week for two matches at Hawaii. The Waves and Warriors first play at 9 p.m. (PT) on March 6, before a 7 p.m. (PT) contest on March 8.
