Pepperdine University
Stanford
No. 9 Pepperdine Upsets No. 3 Stanford in Five
3/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
PALO ALTO, Calif.: - The 9th-ranked Pepperdine men's volleyball team pulled off the biggest upset of the 2016 campaign this Saturday night in Palo Alto, coming back from a 2-0 early deficit to reverse sweep the 3rd-ranked Stanford Cardinal with 22-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-21 and 16-14 set decisions.
The Waves (10-6, 9-6 MPSF) gave a steadily-successful attack throughout five sets, amassing a .341 hitting percentage after smashing 66 kills with only 21 errors throughout 132 swings tonight over the Cardinal (15-3, 13-3 MPSF). The Waves also tallied 13.0 team blocks, four aces, 40 digs and 62 assists to earn the upset. Pepperdine had three players with career-highs, one of which who saw a career-best in multiple categories and another that tied a career-high.
After coming back from a 2-0 set deficit to tie the match 2-2 to send the match to a fifth set, the Waves attempted to complete the reverse sweep. The teams went point-for-point to the 4-4 mark before the home team advanced to an 8-6 advantage. The Waves were quick to even the set at 8's and continue to the 11-11 mark. After going down 14-13 in the final moments of the set, Pepperdine amped up the energy level and rallied back. The set comeback began with a kill by veteran senior Matt Tarantino (Van Nuys, Calif./Bishop Alemany HS) to even the set 14-14 and send the Van Nuys native to the service line.
The Malibu Roofing Company added a collaborated block by juniors setter Joshua Stewart (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine College Prep/Pacific) and Mitchell Penning (St. Louis, Mo./ Westminster Christian Academy) to bring earn the Waves a 15-14 advantage. Tarantino then smoked an ace to the Cardinal's floorboards to finish the comeback upset 3-2 on a 16-14 set five score.
Tarantino tied his career-best 21 kills en route to a .459 success rate on the attack. He tabbed only four errors on 37 attempts, while adding three block assists, two service aces, seven digs and two assists in the effort.
Freshman David Wieczorek (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) posted his first career double-double with a career-high 20 kills and 10 digs. He posted a .343 attack output with eight errors on 35 swings and added four blocks, including one solo and 31 successful service receptions on a perfect 1.000 reception percentage.
Sophomore Colby Harriman (Rochester, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit HS) also garnered a career-best 18 kills with a .324 offensive success rate. He added three blocks, three digs and 19 receptions throughout the match.
Each team put in a strong effort in the first set, with the score going point-for-point throughout, hitting the 5-5, 10-10, and 17-17 marks in a high-intensity showing. The Cardinal started to pull away to the 21-19 mark, but the Waves battled back to even the set yet again 22-22 before the home team shut down the effort and advanced to a 25-22 set win.
The second set looked relatively similar to start, as the teams saw an 8-8 tie early on. The Waves and Cardinal stayed close through the majority of the match. Once Stanford earned a small 14-12 advantage, Pepperdine was unable to close the gap and eventually dropped to a 2-0 set deficit with a 25-21 loss.
Despite going down two sets, the Waves refused to give up energy and were determined to rally back. The team started the set intent on staying in the match and eventually amassed a 9-5 lead early in the set. Stanford continued to play tough, but the Waves were resilient, working to a 17-11 advantage that the home team would be unable to come back from. Pepperdine continued to attack and a kill by Penning closed out the set 25-20.
Stewart lead the Waves in play-making opportunities by dishing out 57 assists and adding six digs and four blocks. Penning ended the night with five blocks, three digs, one ace and four kills on a .375 hitting percentage.
The Cardinal started the fourth set looking to shut the match down, and it looked like the team could do just that as they amassed a 7-3 lead to start things off. Pepperdine did not agree, though, as the Waves battled back and with blocks by sophomore Clay Carr (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) and Wieczorek, a kill from Wieczorek and another defensive collaboration by Carr and Tarantino evened up the set at the 10-10 mark. The teams once again went point-for-point after the tie score and reached the 13-13 mark before the Waves started to work ahead.
Carr finished the night tying his career-best for the third time this season with six blocks. He added three kills, four digs and one ace throughout five sets. Sophomore libero Weston Barnes (Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach HS finished the night with seven digs, two assists and 30 solid service receptions with no reception errors.
As the Waves held a 20-17 advantage looking at the final moments of the fourth set, Stanford started to rally, closing the gap to a 22-19 deficit. Pepperdine had the energy and the momentum, however, and finished off the set with a Wieczorek smash to tie the match 2-2 after a 25-21 set four result.
Next, the Waves will travel to Provo, Utah for back-to-back 6 p.m. starts against 2nd-ranked BYU on March 18 and 19. Live stats, live stream and game notes can all be found by following this link: http://gowav.es/mvb2014.
