Pepperdine University
UC Santa Barbara
UCSB Stuns Pepperdine in Regular Season Finale
4/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Final Stats | Box Score: #9 UC Santa Barbara 3, #3 Pepperdine 1 
Senior Night Photo Album
MALIBU, Calif. -- The evening started out joyously as friends and family gathered to celebrate Senior Night for the six graduating members of the #3 Pepperdine men's volleyball team, but the Waves were unable to come up with the victory against #9 UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos won in four, 25-15, 15-25, 26-24, 25-22.
Although the loss snapped Pepperdine's 20-match home win streak, it will not hurt the Waves (22-5, 17-5 MPSF) in the grand scheme of things. Pepperdine was already locked into the No. 3 seed for the MPSF Tournament and will host a to-be-determined No. 6 seed next week Saturday, April 25 in the quarterfinals.
The Gauchos (16-9, 12-9 MPSF), however, had a lot riding on tonight's result. Entering the week in sixth place in the MPSF, UCSB's postseason fate ranged from a hosting No. 4 seed spot to the No. 7 seed. With tonight's win the Gauchos remain in sixth, but are just half a match behind fifth-place BYU. Although a lot of different scenarios could still play out, it is likely that either the Cougars (home and home vs. UC Irvine this weekend) or UC Santa Barbara (at Stanford on Saturday) will be Malibu-bound for the first round of postseason play.
UC Santa Barbara set the tone early, running away with the first set 25-15. Although the Waves returned the favor with a 25-15 rout in the second, the Gauchos turned the momentum back in their favor with a close 26-24 triumph in set three. The visiting team was out in front for much of the fourth set, but was forced to fend off a furious Pepperdine comeback before holding on to win 25-22.
UCSB hit .298 (51 kills-17 errors-114 attempts) on the night, led by 12 kills apiece from Weston Nielsen, Kevin Donohue and Jacob Delson. The Gauchos limited the Waves to a .266 (47-18-109) clip, while holding Pepperdine's big guns -- Josh Taylor (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) and Parker Kalmbach (Coto de Caza, Calif./Tesoro HS) -- to well below their season hitting percentage averages.
Taylor led the match with 15 kills, but swung at just .194 (15-8-36). Kalmbach contributed with 14 kills, earned at a .290 (14-5-31) clip. Although it was a below par night, Taylor and Kalmbach both rank nationally for their season numbers, hitting .366 and .342, respectively in 2015.
Matt Tarantino (Van Nuys, Calif./Bishop Alemany) provided a bright spot for the Waves, nailing down eight kills earned at .636 (8-1-11). The senior (who is expected to return next year) also posted four blocks.
Brennan Anderson (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar HS/Ohio State) picked up a match-high 14 digs on his Senior Night, while fellow veteran Scott Rhein (Pleasant View, Tenn./Aaron Academy) posted seven kills and 11 digs.
At the net, Mitchell Penning (St. Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian Academy) paced Pepperdine with five blocks.
Matt West (Seattle, Wash./Shorewood HS) handed out 42 assists.UCSB setter Jonah Seif had a superb outing, dishing 43 aces while collecting 12 digs and five blocks. He served up back-to-back aces to close out the match.
The Waves now have nine days to rest up, recharge and prepare for postseason play. Pepperdine will host its MPSF Tournament quarterfinal match on Saturday, April 25 at 7 p.m. The top remaining seed after Saturday's quarterfinal will host the remainder of the tournament on April 30 and May 1.
