Pepperdine University
UC Santa Barbara
Waves Shut Out Gauchos in MPSF Tournament Quarterfinal
4/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Box Score: #5 Pepperdine 3, #9 UC Santa Barbara 0 
MALIBU, Calif. -- For the second-straight match, the Pepperdine men's volleyball team squared off against UC Santa Barbara. After losing to the Gauchos 3-1 last week in the regular-season finale, the Waves refused to let history repeat itself and won tonight's MPSF Tournament quarterfinal in straight sets, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18.
Pepperdine (23-5) was led offensively by Scott Rhein (Pleasant View, Tenn./Aaron Academy) and Parker Kalmbach (Coto de Caza, Calif./Tesoro HS). Rhein sent 12 kills to the floor while hitting .450 (12 kills-3 errors-20 attempts), while Kalmbach earned his 12 put aways at a .385 (12-2-26) clip.
Defense was the name of the game for Josh Taylor (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) and Matt Tarantino (Van Nuys, Calif./Bishop Alemany) in tonight's rematch vs. UC Santa Barbara, who ends the season with a 17-10 record. Taylor picked up 15 digs while adding three blocks -- including two solos -- at the net. Tarantino led the match with seven blocks.
The Gauchos were held to just a .120 (32-20-100) team hitting percentage, after swinging .298 (51-17-114) against the Waves last week. Weston Nielsen was the only UCSB player to reach double-figure kill totals with 11.
"Last time UC Santa Barbara played really well and they hit really well across the board," commented head coach Marv Dunphy after the match. "I think the difference tonight was that we were able to slow them down a bit. We dug some balls and blocked some balls, and actually I thought our point scoring was much better tonight.
"I thought that Scotty Rhein played really well and Parker was his normal self," continued Dunphy, who leads his program to the MPSF Tournament semifinals for the second-straight season and 14th time overall. "I thought one of the keys tonight was that Josh dug 15 in three games. He's a big guy and for him to dig that many balls is just good for us."
Overall, the Waves out-dug UCSB 41-30 and held a 13.5-5.0 advantage in blocks.
Matt West (Seattle, Wash./Shorewood HS) scattered 34 assists to go along with four blocks, while Brennan Anderson (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar HS/Ohio State) finished the night with eight digs. Mitchell Penning (St. Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian Academy) scored three blocks and a pair of kills.
Rhein fell one dig shy of the double-double with nine.
The Waves found a bit of separation early in set one, after Tarantino served his team to a 6-3 advantage. Although the Gauchos cut the lead to one at 7-6, Pepperdine scored the next five unanswered points, punctuated by a Kalmbach-Penning block. UCSB made a late push, cutting a six point deficit down to three at 21-18, but the offensive firepower of Rhein and Kalmbach kept the Waves out in front. Rhein laid down five kills while hitting .500 in the frame, followed by Kalmbach with three.
Set two was a closely-contested affair from start to finish. The sideout game was strong on both sides of the net, but a Kalmbach kill followed by a Taylor solo stuff elevated Pepperdine to a 17-15 lead. Following a UCSB timeout, Kevin Donahue sent two-straight kills to the floor to get his team back on serve. Tied at 22, Kalmbach scored a kill for the sideout. West and Penning then paired up for the Waves' seventh block of the evening. Rhein did the honors at set point, launching a cross-court kill to put the frame away 25-23.
Set three was heated in the first half, with UCSB desperate to avoid the sweep. Taylor came up with a huge defensive play midway through, putting up a solo block to push the home side ahead 15-13. The block party continued for the Malibu Roofing Company, who rejected four more attacks in the closing points. Tarantino and West paired up for a final block at match point to put things away 25-18.
Tarantino scored five blocks in the final set, while Taylor picked up six digs.
Pepperdine plays the winner of the Hawaii-Long Beach State quarterfinal in Irvine, Calif. on Thursday, April 30. The Rainbow Warriors and 49ers square off tonight in Honolulu. Top-seeded UC Irvine defeated UCLA this evening, 3-0, and will host the remainder of the MPSF Tournament. The finals are scheduled for Friday, May 1.
