Pepperdine University
USC
Pepperdine Issues USC a 3-0 Loss
4/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Box Score: #3 Pepperdine 3, #8 USC 0 
MALIBU, Calif. -- The #3-ranked Pepperdine men's volleyball team secured home court advantage in the MPSF Tournament quarterfinals with a 25-20, 25-14, 25-20 shutout against #8 USC on Thursday evening. Senior outside hitter Scott Rhein paced the Waves' offense with 12 kills, two blocks and an ace.
Pepperdine, now 20-4 overall and a third-place 15-4 in the MPSF, avenged its earlier road loss to the Trojans back in January with the lopsided victory tonight in Malibu. USC, fourth behind the Waves in the league, fall to 14-8 and 12-7 in conference play.
Pepperdine's offense was firing on all cylinders tonight. Behind 36 assists out of Matt West (Seattle, Wash./Shorewood HS), the Waves swung at a season-high .469 (45 kills-7 errors-81 attempts) hitting percentage. Three Waves finished the night with 12 kills, including Rhein (Pleasant View, Tenn./Aaron Academy), Josh Taylor (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) and Parker Kalmbach (Coto de Caza, Calif./Tesoro HS). The trio combined for 16 digs, including a team-best six out of Rhein.
USC was held to just a .263 (33-13-76) clip. Josh Kirchner was the only Trojan to score in double figures with 12 points behind 11 kills and a pair of blocks.
West, who leads the MPSF with an assists average of 11.28, laid down a pair of aces and forced countless more poor passes during his run at the service line. The senior setter also picked up five digs.
Brennan Anderson (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar HS/Ohio State) was perfect on serve receive and wrapped his night with four digs and three assists.
Mitchell Penning (St. Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian Academy) led the defensive effort at the net, charting a match-best five blocks. Fellow middle blocker Matt Tarantino (Van Nuys, Calif./Bishop Alemany) put down five kills on six errorless swings, while also contributing with two aces and two blocks.
Set one was a close battle for most of the frame, with the two sides exchanging the lead four times while being tied on 10 occasions. Tied 20-20, Kalmbach knocked a kill to the floor to rotate West to the service line. His first serve was overpassed, with Taylor waiting at the net to send it back down. Penning threw the solo roof on after a USC timeout to make it 23-20, and West served out the set, 25-20.
It was all Pepperdine in set two, thanks in part to a combined 12 kills out of Rhein and Kalmbach. The Waves sprinted out to an 8-3 advantage and never looked back, going on to win 25-14. The home team hit .586 (18-1-29) in the frame, and allowed the Trojans just seven kills at .174 (7-3-23).
The third set played out close in the first half, but a 7-2 run that included two points by the Malibu Roofing Company provided all the separation the Waves would need. After Rhein sided out with a kill for match point, 24-20, he teamed up with Tarantino for Pepperdine's fourth roof of the set to clinch the match for the home team.
The Waves' home streak now sits at 18 in a row, just one shy of tying the all-time record (set between the 2004-06 seasons). Pepperdine goes for home win No. 19 in a row on Saturday, April 4 with a 7 p.m. match vs. Cal Baptist.
