Final Stats

FINAL STATS
HIGHLIGHTS
PHOTO GALLERY

MALIBU, Calif.: - It was a colossal night for the No. 11 Pepperdine men's volleyball team this Friday night at Firestone Fieldhouse as the Waves upset No. 4 UC Irvine after a four-set all-out brawl, 34-32, 25-21, 20-25, 25-19.

The Malibu Roofing Company put up quite a roof over the attack effort of Anteaters (2-3, 1-2 MPSF), as the Waves out-blocked the opposition with 16.0 team blocks compared to UCI's 7.0. The Waves (4-1, 3-1 MPSF) also collected 10 aces, 44 kills and 32 big digs to garner the win.

The first set stretched long as both team refused to let up, but Pepperdine eventually picked up the momentum for a 34-32 set win. The Waves then took the second set 25-21 before giving up the third, 20-25. It was serve-for-serve and point-for-point in the fourth and final set, but the home team prevailed for a 25-19 set win and the 3-1 victory.

Sophomore Colby Harriman (Rochester, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit HS) led the attack with a career-best 16 kills on 31 swings and with only six errors, posted a .323 hitting percentage. He also posted a career-high eight blocks (7 assists, 1 solo) and tabbed one ace and 21 serve reception to fuel the Waves to the win.

"It's all about the team," said Harriman. "What I love about volleyball is that there is no one guy that can take all the credit for everything. Wes[ton Barnes] and Dave [Wieczorek] passing nails all night. Soren putting up some really great balls. The middles pulling middle blocker and only giving one blocker to face. It was a really good effort, by everyone.

"UCI is a really good team and to pull out that match was huge for us. I'm really happy about this great team win."

Junior Soren Dion-Kindem (Agoura Hills, Calif./Agoura HS) was challenged with coming into the match in the middle of the first set after junior Joshua Stewart (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory/Pacific) went down with an injury, but came out with a strong mind and some big play.

"Josh has been playing great and Soren came in and played really well," said head coach Marv Dunphy. "We didn't skip a beat. I'm proud of both of them."

He dished out 35 assists on 84 touches, while surprising the Anteaters with two kills and one service ace. The setter also added six digs and three block assists for Pepperdine.

"I knew I had to step up as the second setter on the team," said Dion-Kindem. "So I knew there was no option of not playing my hardest. I did what I had to do which was come in and play a role and I tried my hardest.

"Focus. Our whole team remained focused the whole time. I couldn't imagine anything else but playing what we were told by the coaches. We were running our offensive and reacting to what they were doing on their side. In that game, it was a little bit of cat and mouse. You see what they do and react."

Seniors Tommy Carmody (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg HS/Pacific) and Matt Tarantino (Van Nuys, Calif./Bishop Alemany HS) were also instrumental in the upset. Tarantino with 11 kills, five digs, four block assists and three digs for the all-out effort. Carmody owned the net with a career-high (at Pepperdine) 10 blocks, while adding three kills and one ace.

Sophomore David Wieczorek put in an impacting effort as well with a career-high five aces, as well as seven kills three blocks, two digs and 19 serve receptions.

"He was in a good rhythm and it is good for us down the road," Dunphy said. "He does it in practice so it's not the first time we have seen him serve well. He's a good kid and I'm glad he's here."

Junior Mitchell Penning (St. Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian Academy) closed up the night with five kills, a .400 hitting percentage and three blocks.

Sophomore libero Weston Barnes (Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach HS/George Mason) had his best match of the season thus far after owning the court and not letting the opposition touch the floor at key moments. He dug up 15 attacks and added 30 serve receptions while amassing three assists.

The first set was a battle of wits and strength, with UCI gaining the first advantage going up to an 8-4 lead early on. The Waves continued to battle, however, almost evening the score and the 9-10 mark before the opposition gradually raced away again towards commanding six-point advantage over the home team.

An ace by Harriman got the Waves back in action though, and Pepperdine continued to duke it out with UC Irvine, eventually tying the score 20-20. With 12 tied scores and three lead changes, the set was anyone's to have. The set looked to be moving in the Anteaters favor as the team picked up two quick points to go up 23-21, but the Waves again stayed strong and closed out the set with a solid ace by Carmody.

"It wasn't pretty at times," said Dunphy. "But we found a way to win that first set and that was huge. Games and matches can be won early as well as late and I thought we had several chances in the first set and kind of bungled them, and we had a few more chances that eventually went our way."

In the second set, the Waves hit the court knowing they would need to keep the momentum on their side, and did just that, working towards a 12-6 lead with Dion-Kindem at the service line. Pepperdine continued to stay ahead, hitting the 17-12 mark after a solo block by Harriman, and kept the wall at the net. The set ended with a big smash by Tarantino to put the Waves up 2-0 on a 25-21 decision.

Pepperdine came out strong again in the third set, intent on keeping the energy up and working towards a straight-set victory. The team even took the lead at the 14-11 mark before the Anteaters decided to bring it back to their court. UCI picked up an ace and went on a three-point run to tie the score, and continued to gain momentum eventually earning the 17-15 lead. Pepperdine tied it up at 17's and took a 20-18 lead, but the strong UCI program stayed in the match and with Tucker Pikula at the line for three service aces, amassed a 25-20 set win to send the match to four sets.

The fourth and final set of the night was again an all-out brawl, but the Waves garnered a strong 14-9 lead to pick up steam with the help of three near-consecutive service aces by Wieczorek. Pepperdine continued to push and UC Irvine was never quite able to even the score. With Penning at the service line, the Waves were in good hands to continue un-stopped play. Clutch back-to-back blocks, first by a Tarantino, Harriman, Carmody connection and then a Harriman Carmody collaboration sealed the deal with a 24-19 match-point. Tarantino crushed the final kill of the match down on the Anteaters to secure the 3-1 upset over the No. 4 team in the nation.

Next, Pepperdine will hit the road for a short trip to the Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif. as the Waves challenge No. 15 USC on Tuesday, January 26 at 7 p.m. Live stats, live stream and game notes can all be found by following this link: http://gowav.es/mvb2014.