ROMEOVILLE, Ill. — Four players posted double-figure kills to propel the #5 Pepperdine men's volleyball team to a four-set win over #8 Lewis in Neil Carey Arena on Saturday night.  Robert Mullahey dished out 49 assists and the Waves to a .336 hitting percentage to help Pepperdine to 25-18, 24-26, 25-23 and 25-19 final set scores.
 
David Wieczorek led the team with his fourth career double-double and his first of the 2019 season after posting 16 kills and 11 digs.  Kaleb Denmark, Michael Wexter and Kévin Vaz also hit for double-figure kills with 16, 15 and 13 respectively.  Denmark's kill effort was a career-high, as was Noah Dyer's 18 digs.
 
BIG WAVES
David Wieczorek (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy): 16 kills, .375 hitting %, 11 digs, 2 aces, 1 block, 2 assists
Kaleb Denmark (Redlands, Calif./Arrowhead Christian Academy): 16 kills, .333 hitting %, 8 digs
Michael Wexter (New Lenox, Ill./Linoln-Way West HS): 15 kills, 1 ace, 6 digs
Kévin Vaz (Paris, France/Palmetto HS (Fla.)/Cal Baptist): 13 kills, .550 hitting %, 5 blocks (1 solo), 1 ace
Noah Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley HS): 18 digs, 4 assists
Max Chamberlain (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs HS): 4 kills, 1 ace, 2 digs
Robert Mullahey (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS): 49 assists, 3 blocks, 5 digs, 2 aces, 1 kill
 
WAVES VS. FLYERS
Pepperdine led the match heavily on the attack front, posting 65 kills on a .336 success rate, while allowing the opposition only 48 kills on a .244 output.  The Waves also led with seven aces and 50 digs to the Flyers' five aces and 42 digs.  The opposition posted more blocks, however, as the Flyers marked 14.0 team blocks to the Waves' 5.0.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          13        5          24        .333
2          18        5          37        .351
3          17        7          41        .244
4          17        2          35        .429
TTL      65        19        137      .336
 
LEWIS ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          10        5          35        .143
2          15        4          30        .367
3          12        3          32        .281
4          11        5          30        .200
TTL      48        17        127      .244
 
NOTABLES

• David Wieczoek posted his fourth career double-double and the first of the 2019 season with 16 kills and 11 digs.  It's also the 54^th match in his career he has amassed double-figure kills and the fifth time this season.
• Kaleb Denmark picked up a new career-high against Lewis tonight, posting 16 kills.  It is the 4^th time he has hit for double-figures both in the season and the career.
• Michael Wexter reached the double-figure kill mark for the fifth time this season and the 14^th time in his career.
• Kevin Vaz tallied a career-high kill effort as well with 13 on the day.  It is the first time this season he has posted double-figure kills.
• Noah Dyer also posted a new career-high with 18 digs in the effort. He has put up five matches with double-figure digs in his career and two this season.

 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
In the first set, each side came out strong working ahead to a 5-5 tie.  After that, however, kills from Michael Wexter and a Robert Mullahey ace propelled the Waves to an 11-8 advantage.  The Waves would continue en route to an 18-12 lead with a pair of smashes from David Wieczorek and Kevin Vaz.  In the final moments of the set, Wexter plasters a few more kills on the floor to keep Pepperdine in the lead and the Waves were able to shut the set down with a 25-18 win after a kill from Kaleb Denmark.
 
In the second set, Pepperdine worked ahead to an 18-13 advantage late in the action, but Lewis was able to close the gap and tie the set with five-straight points.  The Waves were able to close the gap and tie the score at 23's.  After each team reached the 24-point mark, the Flyers buckled down and collected the next two points necessary to tie the match with a 26-24 second set win.
 
It was a see-saw battle to begin the third set, but after a 9-9 tied score, the Waves started inching away.  Kills from Denmark and back-to-back aces from Wieczorek and Max Chamberlain gave the team a 15-10 lead.  After a 20-17 Waves' lead, the home team was able to start coming back and tied the set at 23's.  A kill by Denmark and an attack error from across the net earned the Waves a 25-23 set win, though, and Pepperdine headed into the fourth with a 2-1 advantage.
 
Pepperdine worked ahead to open the fourth set, 5-2, and refused to give an inch throughout.  After a Wexter service ace and kills from Wieczorek, the Waves led 12-9 in the middle of the set.  Although Lewis stayed close behind, Pepperdine was able to remain in the lead, eventually amassing a 22-17 lead courtesy of more smashes from Denmark and Wexter.  After amassing a six point lead en route to set point, Wieczorek delivered the final kill to earn the Waves a 25-19 set win and the 3-1 overall victory.
 
NEXT UP
Next, the Waves will return to California, but head down south to challenge #2 UC Irvine at 5 p.m. on Sunday, January 27.  Follow the Waves on Facebook and Twitter, @PeppVolleyball, and follow the team on Instagram, @PeppMVB.  Get all the most recent schedules, results and more on www.PepperdineWaves.com.