Feb. 2, 2017 Final Stats
MALIBU, Calif.: - The 9th-ranked Pepperdine men's volleyball team were felled by 3rd-ranked Long Beach State in Walter Pyramid this Thursday evening, dropping three straight sets with 25-20, 25-17 and 25-21 set scores.
The Waves (4-3, 2-2 MPSF) tabbed a .253 hitting percentage after posting 34 kills with 12 errors on 87 swings. Long Beach State (8-2, 3-1 MPSF) produced a .418 attack output in comparison, with 49 kills and 11 errors on 91 attempts. Pepperdine tabbed one ace and 5.0 blocks, compared to the 49ers four aces and 5.5 team blocks.
Redshirt-sophomore David Wieczorek (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) led the Waves with 13 kills on a .312 success rate. He added three digs and two blocks. Sophomore Max Chamberlain (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs HS) led the squad with three blocks and freshman Noah Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian Academy) was good for the Waves' sole ace, along with six kills and three dgis.
Senior Joshua Stewart (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory/Pacific) led Pepperdine with 31 assists, and picked up four digs, one block and a kill. Sophomore Michael Wexter (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) added six kills and a team-high eight digs. Junior libero Weston Barnes (Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach HS/George Mason) added six digs as well. Junior Clay Carr (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) finished the night with four kills on a .300 output and added two blocks, including one solo rejection.
In the first set, Long Beach worked ahead to a 10-6 lead. The Waves went on a 4-2 run to bring the deficit within two-points, but the 49ers struck back to pull ahead 18-13. Despite several attempts to battle back in the set, the opposition picked up a 25-20 set win to open the match.
The second went point-for-point to the 6-6 mark, before the home team stacked a few points in sequence to a 13-8 advantage. LBSU then kept hitting the floor offensively to produce a 25-17 set win.
In the third and final set, the Waves went down by three, 6-9, but came back strong to tie the set at 12's and build the team's first lead of the night with a 15-12 advantage. Pepperdine kept exchanging points, but the 49ers eventually tied the match at the 18-18 mark. The home team then had the momentum and finished off the set 25-21 for the 3-0 sweep.
Next up, the Waves return home on February 8 to host No. 11 UC Santa Barbara at 7 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse. Follow Pepperdine @PeppVolleyball on Twitter and Facebook for immediate updates and head to PepperdineWaves.com for recaps, results and more.
