No. 6 Men's Volleyball To Host USC on Saturday
3/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
GAME NOTES
MALIBU, Calif.: The 6th-ranked Pepperdine men's volleyball team will return to Malibu this week to be challenged by USC, a team receiving votes on the AVCA Coaches Poll, on Saturday in Firestone Fieldhouse. The Waves are coming off a huge 3-1 upset over top-ranked BYU last week as the team heads into the upcoming competition.
MATCH 19 - Saturday (March 26) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: No. 6 Pepperdine vs. USC, 7 p.m.
COVERAGE - Can't make it out to the match? No problem! Links to any available live stats, video and audio can always be found by clicking on a particular event on the men's volleyball schedule page at PepperdineSports.com. PepperdineSports.com offers a wide variety of FREE options to follow along with all your favorite teams. WaveCasts broadcasts all home matches for free on your computer or mobile device. Veteran play-by-play announcer Al Epstein will once again serve as the voice of Pepperdine volleyball in 2016.
TICKETS - Admission to home matches is $8. Admission to regular-season home events is free for Pepperdine students, faculty and staff with a valid Pepperdine ID. Call the Ticket Office at (866) WAVE-TIX for more information.
PROMOTIONS - The first 1,000 fans to the match will earn Sport Chalet mystery gift cards. The Waves will be honoring the 1985 and 1986 squads, who won back-to-back NCAA national championships before and during the match.
SOCIAL MEDIA - Follow men's volleyball on Twitter and Facebook, @PeppVolleyball. Stay tuned into all Pepperdine Athletics on Instagram, @PepperdineWaves, and follow the Waves on YouTube for match highlights and special features.
LOOKING AHEAD - The Waves remain at home next week as the team hosts fourth-ranked Long Beach State on March 31 and 11th-ranked Cal State Northridge on April 2 in Firestone Fieldhouse. The match on April 2 will be the final Waves' home match of the season and seniors Matt Tarantino and Tommy Carmody will be recognized.
LAST WEEK - The Waves split the road series in Provo with top-ranked BYU last week, dropping the first match on Friday in straight sets before coming back on Saturday with a 3-1 upset to end the weekend. On Friday, the Cougars pulled away with a 28-26 win in the first set that led to 25-19 and 25-20 final set scores. The Waves hit for .296 on the night after posting 45 kills and 16 errors in 98 swings. The team also picked up 3.5 team blocks, 28 digs, 41 assists and one ace in the effort. Senior Matt Tarantino led the Waves with 17 kills on a .333 hitting percentage.
The highlight of the weekend came on Saturday. After going down 23-25 in the first set, the Waves rallied back from an early deficit in the second set. BYU had seven set-point opportunities, but the Waves were resilient in the attempt and eventually earned the 33-31 set win to tie the match. The Waves then came back from another early disadvantage in the third set to win 25-23 and secured the upset with a 25-22 fourth set victory.
On the night, Pepperdine posted a .318 success rate on the attack with 66 kills and 25 errors in 129 attempts. The team tabbed 9.0 blocks, 37 digs, 61 assists and seven big aces in the effort. Tarantino led the team with 20 kills, one shy of tying his career-high, and boasted a .302 hitting percentage. He added three aces, six digs and one block for the team. Senior Tommy Carmody led the effort with seven blocks, including one solo, while adding seven kills all night. Freshman David Wieczorek picked up 18 kills on an impressive .448 success rate from the outside and junior Joshua Stewart led the team with a career-best 59 assists.
MPSF PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Senior Matt Tarantino garnered his second consecutive MPSF/Molten Player of the Week honor this week after helping the Waves to an upset over top-ranked BYU in Provo. He was the first individual in the MPSF this season to garner back-to-back honors. The award marks Tarantino's (Van Nuys, Calif./Bishop Alemany HS) third career player of the week honor and second of the 2016 campaign. All three of his awards were received in the month of March (3/17/14; 3/14/16; 3/21/16).
To earn the accolade, the 6-foot-8 senior helped the Waves split the effort against top-ranked BYU in Provo this weekend after amassing 6.0 points/set, 5.29 kills/set, 1.43 digs/set, 0.57 blocks/set and 0.43 aces/set after seven sets of work. He posted a .315 hitting percentage throughout the two matches while tabbing 37 kills with only 14 errors in 73 swings. He also picked up three aces, 10 digs and four blocks throughout the weekend to end with 42.0 points.
First, in the three-set match on Friday, the senior tabbed 17 kills with only seven errors on 30 swings for a .333 attack output. He also added three blocks, four digs and a perfect 1.000 serving percentage after 11 total service attempts, finishing with 18.5 points. Then in the four-set victory over the cougars, Tarantino posted one shy of his career-best with 20 kills on 43 attempts for a .302 success rate. He also commanded the service line with three aces on 20 total serves and added six digs and one block for 23.5 points for the Waves.
THE NO. 6 WAVES - The Waves moved up two spots to No. 6 on the AVCA Coaches Poll this week, boasting an 11-7 overall record and a 10-7 record within Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play so far this season. As a team, Pepperdine averages 12.79 kills/set, 12.15 assists/set, 1.29 aces/set, 7.37 digs/set and 2.94 blocks/set this season. The Waves have amassed 1,158.0 points this season and have amassed a .304 hitting percentage after tallying 870 kills and 317 errors on 1,819 total attempts. The team ranks second in the nation in blocks/set, seventh in assists/set and ninth in hitting percentage.
Senior Matt Tarantino leads the team with 3.79 kills/set after picking up 254 kills and 90 errors in 516 swings. He boasts a .318 hitting percentage and is ranked nationally in four separate statistical categories. The Van Nuys, Calif. also averages 1.36 digs/set, 0.87 blocks/set, 0.24 aces/set and 0.22 assists/set this season. Senior Tommy Carmody leads the nation with 1.72 blocks/set this season. He has amassed 79 total blocks, including nine solos and adds 1.63 kills/set for the Waves. Freshman David Wieczorek is also instrumental for the Waves with 2.98 kill/set and is ranked nationally in three separate categories, including aces/set with 0.35 on the season. Junior Joshua Stewart has taken the reins of the playmaking responsibilities and averages 9.83 assists/set for the Waves this season. Sophomore Weston Barnes cleans up in the back row with 1.88 digs/set as well.
OPPONENT NOTES: USC - The Waves boast an impressive 60-37 record over the Trojans, including a 28-13 record in at home competition since the two teams first faced off in Firestone Fieldhouse in 1971. Pepperdine's longest winning streak against the Trojans came during the 1983-85 seasons when the Waves won 10 matches in a row. Most recently this season, Pepperdine dropped a five-set stunner to the Trojans on the road.
USC holds a 6-14 overall record this season including a 4-12 record in the MPSF. The team has gone 2-6 on the road and hits for a .227 success rate on the attack after smashing down 11.56 kills/set. The team has also posted 10.94 assists/set, 0.88 aces/set, 8.10 digs/set and 1.76 blocks/set so far this season. Lucas Yoder leads the team with 3.15 kills/set after tabbing 211 kills and 87 errors on 501 swings. Tommy Leonard leads the team with 50 total blocks, including seven solos and with 0.77 blocks/set this season. Jack Yoder holds down the playmaking responsibilities for the Trojans with 9.86 assists/set and 542 total assists.
2016 AWARDS - The Waves are currently ranked No. 8 on the AVCA Coaches Poll. Senior Matt Tarantino most recently garnered back-to-back MPSF Player of the Week honors (March 14/March 21). Prior to the first match of the season, he was tabbed an Off The Block/Springbak, Inc. Preseason Second Team All-American selection and junior Mitchell Penning earned a spot on the honorable mention squad. The Waves were picked No. 7 on the MPSF Preseason Coaches Poll, and earned the No. 11 spot on the AVCA Top 15 Preseason Coaches Poll to start the season.
CAN AM CHALLENGE - The team began the season by competing in the annual Can Am Challenge, taking home the title after defeating both Saskatchewan and British Columbia twice towards a 4-0 exhibition performance. As a team, the Waves amassed a .391 hitting percentage on 191 kills and only 55 errors in 348 attempts. Pepperdine also picked up 1.96 blocks/set, 6.77 digs/set, 2.15 aces/set and 13.85 assists/set throughout the four matches. David Wieczorek led the Waves with multiple standout performances, earning 4.38 kills/set after smashing 57 kills and only eight errors in 95 attempts down on performance, for a .516 hitting percentage. He also tallied three aces, 16 digs and nine blocks for the Waves. In the last match against UBC, the freshman outside hitter posted 28 kills and a .533 hitting percentage. The team had five players above 2.00 kills/set after 13 sets as well. Colby Harriman finished the tournament with 4.33 kills/set (39-11-72) and a .389 hitting percentage, along with four aces. Joshua Stewart divvied up the majority of the plays after dishing out 161 assists and averaging 12.38 assists/set. He also led the team with 1.62 digs/set. Senior Tommy Carmody led the team with 1.00 blocks/set after amassing nine total blocks in nine sets played and Mitchell Penning and junior Max States were each good for five service aces total.
2015 AWARDS - Graduates Josh Taylor and Matt West were named to the AVCA All-American First Team, and Parker Kalmbach earned second team honors. The Waves led the MPSF with six All-MPSF selections: Josh Taylor, Matt West and Parker Kalmbach were placed on the first team, while Matt Tarantino and Brennan Anderson snagged second-team acclaim, and Scott Rhein picked up an honorable mention. Off the Block blog announced Matt West as the co-winner of the Lloy Ball Award, along with USC's Micah Christianson, going to the top setter in the NCAA. Parker Kalmbach was a finalist for the Bryan Ivie Award (best opposite). Josh Taylor was a finalist for the Karch Kiraly Award (best outside hitter), with Penn State's Aaron Russell taking top honors.
VOLLEYBALL HISTORY - Pepperdine has won five NCAA men's volleyball championships, second only to UCLA. The Waves have won the MPSF Tournament three times and have won or shared 10 regular-season conference titles. Pepperdine has won either an MPSF regular-season or tournament title (or both) in six of the last 15 seasons. The Waves have finished in the top six in the final AVCA poll in 16 of the last 18 seasons. Pepperdine student-athletes have won national player of the year honors nine times and All-American accolades 81 times. A Pepperdine alum has competed for the U.S. at the Olympics every time since 1984 (Sean Rooney won gold in 2008).
Marv Dunphy - Now in his 33rd season as head coach of the Waves, Marv Dunphy has time and again proven himself to be one of the top teachers in the sport. He has directed Pepperdine to four NCAA championships, each in a different decade (1978, 1985, 1992, 2005). He was the 2005 National Coach of the Year and is a three-time MPSF Coach of the Year. He entered the 2016 season with a career record of 589-254 (.699). Dunphy has long been involved with USA Volleyball, having been part of the coaching staff at six Olympics, including head coach of the 1988 team and consultant coach for the 2008 squad, both of which won gold. Dunphy, along with David Hunt and Joe Trinsey, were on staff when the U.S. Women's National Team won their first-ever gold medal at a major event (including the Olympics), after winning the 2014 FIVB World Championships. He has been inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame (1994), AVCA Hall of Fame (2009) and the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame (2010).
ABOUT PEPPERDINE - Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I Championships in five different men's sports — one of just 17 schools to have accomplished this feat — and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 25 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks No. 52 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
