Final Stats

Box Score: Pepperdine 3, BYU 1 

MALIBU, Calif. - After edging #6 BYU in five sets on Friday, the #4 Pepperdine men's volleyball got the better of the Cougars again tonight, winning 3-1. Both Parker Kalmbach and Josh Taylor put down 24 kills to lead the Waves to victory.

The Waves took a 2-0 lead before BYU got on the board with a win in the third. The Cougars made a strong campaign to send the match a fifth set, up late 23-18 in set four, but Pepperdine killed off two set points and went on to take the frame and end the come-back attempt. Final set scores were 26-24, 25-17, 23-25, 27-25.

The Waves (17-4, 12-4 MPSF) once again impressed with their high-octane offense. After charting a season-high 78 kills last night vs. BYU, Pepperdine put down 74 tonight while hitting .407 (74 kills-15 errors-145 attempts).

Taylor (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) earned his season-best 24 kills off a .476 (24-4-42) clip. Kalmbach (Coto de Caza, Calif./Tesoro HS) posted 24 kills while hitting .419 (24-6-43). He also picked up 14 digs for his second-straight double-double and team-leading fourth of the season.

Matt West (Seattle, Wash./Shorewood HS) guided the offense and was credited with 58 assists to go along with 10 digs. Brennan Anderson (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar HS/Ohio State) added seven assists and 14 digs.

Overall, the Waves out-dug the Cougars 57-48.

Also reaching double figures in kills was Scott Rhein (Pleasant View, Tenn./Aaron Academy) who ended the night with 12. In addition, the senior outside hitter paced the match with a pair of aces.

Phil Fuchs had a good night for BYU (13-7, 10-6 MPSF), putting down 22 kills while hitting .422 (22-3-45).

After five painstakingly close sets last night, the series picked up right where it left on in the first tonight. The opening frame featured 22 ties and eight lead changes. Rhein put the Waves up set point twice before Kalmbach got the dig that translated into a Taylor kill, 26-24.

Pepperdine took an early lead in set two, and put it on cruise control the rest of the way. After expanding the advantage to eight points, 21-13, the home team sided its way out to the 25-17 victory. Kalmbach knocked down nine kills in the stanza, while picking up seven digs.

BYU found a bit of rhythm in set three, and held on to a small lead from nearly start to finish. Pepperdine made a push towards the end, down by just one 23-24, but Carson Heninger terminated a kill to make it a 2-1 match.

The Cougars continued to control the tempo in the fourth, and it appeared as though the match was destined to go the distance for the second-straight night. After leading the entire set, going ahead by as much as five at 23-18, the Waves began work on the improbable comeback.

After siding out, Pepperdine took advantage of back-to-back attack errors by Fuchs to come back within two, 21-23. Kalmbach scored, but Michael Hatch killed off a ball to take set point, 24-22. Taylor then sided out for the Waves, before saving the second set point with both a dig and a kill.

Tied 24-24, to two teams exchanged sideouts before Matt Tarantino (Van Nuys, Calif./Bishop Alemany) came up big with a solo roof to give Pepperdine its first lead of the set, 26-25. BYU had its chance to sideout, but Joe Grosh sent an attack long to put the match away, 27-25.

Middle blockers Tarantino and Mitchell Penning (St. Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian Academy) both concluded the match with six kills and two blocks.

Pepperdine makes its final regular-season road trip next week, playing matches at Long Beach State (March 26) and Cal State Northridge (March 28).