LOS ANGELES, California – The #4 Pepperdine men's volleyball team was a set away from taking sole possession of first place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, but #6 UCLA rallied for a five-set victory (29-31, 17-25, 25-20, 25-18, 15-9) in Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday night.
 
The Waves saw their six-match winning streak come to an end as they dropped to 11-3, 4-1, while the Bruins improved to 13-4, 5-0.
 
The Waves held the Bruins to .164 hitting over the first two sets, and the Waves had nine of their 13 blocks in that time, but UCLA hit .500 or better in each of the final three sets.
 
BIG WAVES

• Senior opposite Michael Wexter (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West HS) had 20 kills, his third time this season reaching that mark, and a career-high-tying six blocks.
• Senior outside hitter David Wieczorek (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) had 12 kills and five digs.
• Senior outside hitter Kaleb Denmark (Redlands, Calif./Arrowhead Christian Academy) recorded nine kills and five digs.
• Sophomore setter Robert Mullahey (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) had 32 assists.
• Junior libero Noah Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) notched nine digs.

 MATCH STATS

• PEPP hitting: .248 overall (.344 set one, .200 set two, .273 set three, .286 set four, .095 set five)
• UCLA hitting: .352 overall (.212 set one, .107 set two, .565 set three, .524 set four, .500 set five)
• Service Aces: PEPP 4, UCLA 5
• Digs: PEPP 30, UCLA 50
• Blocks: PEPP 13.0, UCLA 10.5
• UCLA was led by Austin Matautia's 22 kills and 11 digs.

 PLAY BY PLAY
 
The Bruins got out to an 18-14 lead in set one, but the Waves' blocking helped get them back into it. A Wieczorek block eventually tied it at 21, and Pepperdine would go up 24-22 after a Wieczorek service ace and a UCLA attack error. Both teams fought off multiple set points as play continued, but the Waves finally picked up the extra-point victory on a Wieczorek kill. The Waves overcame 10 service errors with the help of seven blocks.
 
UCLA broke out to a 7-4 lead in set two, but after a timeout, it was all Pepperdine the rest of the way to the tune of 21-10. Down 9-8, the Waves scored five straight points, which included a Wexter ace and a block by graduate transfer middle blocker Kevin Vaz (Paris, France/Cal Baptist). The Waves repeatedly scored off their serve, including a set-ending ace by Denmark.
 
The third set stayed even for a while, but at 11-11, the Bruins scored three straight points and the Waves never caught back up. Pepperdine had a swing to tie it at 17-16, but couldn't connect, and the Bruins went on to claim the set after scoring six of the final nine points.
 
The Waves scored the first three points of set four and led 5-1, but an 8-1 UCLA run put the Bruins up 14-9, and Pepperdine didn't have a comeback in this one, sending the match to a fifth set.
 
The Waves never led in set five as the Bruins began with a run of three consecutive blocks. Pepperdine rallied within a point at 7-6 and 8-7, both after Wieczorek kills, but then the Bruins ran off four straight points en route to the victory.
 
NOTABLE

• The Waves fell to 2-2 in five-set matches this season. All four of them have come on the road.
• Pepperdine's last win at UCLA was in 2015. The return match at Firestone Fieldhouse is March 27.

UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine continues MPSF play at #13 USC on Saturday (March 2) at 7 p.m.