Pepperdine University
USC
No. 6 Waves Sweep USC at Home
3/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
PHOTO GALLERY
HIGHLIGHTS
MALIBU, Calif.: - The 6th-ranked Pepperdine men's volleyball team swept the Trojans of USC in Firestone Fieldhouse this Saturday night, dropping the opposition with 31-29, 25-22 and 25-23 final decisions. In attendance and honored prior to first serve, were the 1985 and 1986 back-to-back NCAA Championship winning teams.
Pepperdine (12-7, 11-7 MPSF) posted a solid team hitting percentage of .381, while amassing 4.0 team blocks and five total aces throughout the night. The Trojans (6-16, 4-14 MPSF) produced 6.5 team blocks and ended the night with a .356 success rate on the attack.
The Waves battled hard throughout the first set, battling through four Trojan set-point opportunities before clinching the 31-29 win to go up early. The set marked the 10th set this season that the Waves' have fought in extra point options. Pepperdine then kept ahead of the opposition throughout the rest of the match, picking up 25-22 and 25-23 set scores to complete the sweep. With the win tonight and UC Irvine's loss to Hawai'i on Friday, the Waves have officially clinched a berth in the MPSF tournament, to take place from April 16 to April 23.
Senior Matt Tarantino (Van Nuys, Calif./Bishop Alemany HS) led the Waves with 15 kills en route to a .462 hitting percentage, three blocks, three aces and posted six digs throughout three sets of work. Freshman David Wieczorek (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) also hit for double-figure kills with 10 on the night. He added a .400 success rate on the attack, two aces and one solo block for the Waves.
In the first set, the Waves and Trojans went point-for-point throughout the majority of the set, sporting 27 tie scores and seven lead changes. With the score tied late at 23 each, the Trojans found some momentum and garnered the team's first set-point opportunity with a kill.
A smash from senior Tommy Carmody (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg HS/Pacific) helped the home team battle back, and after a few more set advantages by USC, the Waves flipped the momentum. In the Trojans' fourth set-point option, the opponent's hit the net for a service error to put the ball in the Waves' court. Wieczorek posted a monster solo block to gain the advantage and Pepperdine forced an attack error to end the set 31-29.
Carmody was good for a .800 attack output on a 4-0-5 effort. The senior added two blocks and two digs as well, while sophomore Colby Harriman (Rochester, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit HS) registered eight kills.
In the second set, Pepperdine amassed an early 14-9 lead after a Trojan service error and a kill delivered by junior Mitchell Penning (St. Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian Academy). The Waves maintained the advantage throughout the set, despite a strong effort put forth from USC. The opposition battled back to a two-point deficit at 21-19 late, but the Waves worked off the energy of the crowd and a kill from Tarantino gave the Waves a 2-0 advantage on the night with a 25-22 set win.
Penning tabbed four kills all night. Junior Joshua Stewart (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory/Pacific) dished out 37 assists and added five digs. Sophomore libero Weston Barnes (Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach HS/George Mason) ended the night with eight digs.
The Trojans came out strong in the third set, maintaining a lead through the majority of play. After a 9-7 lead, the Waves tied the match, but the opposition again worked ahead to an 18-14 lead. USC stayed three points ahead of the Waves until the 23-20 mark.
The Malibu Roofing Company, by way of Tarantino and Carmody, started the swing and after Tarantino picked up another kill and the Waves forced an attack error the score stood at an even 23-23. The Trojans were forced to call a timeout in an attempt to freeze out the Waves, but Pepperdine worked with the energy of the crowd and another kill by Tarantino and attack error by the Trojans ended the match with a 25-23 set win a straight-set sweep for the Waves.
Next, Pepperdine is back home on March 31 as the team hosts Long Beach State at Firestone Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. Follow @PeppVolleyball on Twitter for live updates, results and more and find full recaps, results and photo galleries on PepperdineSports.com.
1985 and 1986 Waves coaches and players honored before the match:
Mark Arnold
Randall Bergstedt
Michael Fitzgerald
Steven Friedman
Joseph Fuschetti
Ty Kastendiek
Matthew Morphy
Gary Moy
Robert Scott
Jamie Smith
David Trujillo
Rod Wilde
Marv Dunphy
