MALIBU, California – Kaleb Denmark and Michael Wexter combined for 35 kills while each hitting better than .500 to help the #4 Pepperdine men's volleyball team to a crucial four-set victory (25-21, 29-31, 25-16, 25-17) over #5 UCLA in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action on Wednesday night.
 
The victory moves the Waves (17-6, 6-3) atop the MPSF standings along with the Bruins (16-7, 6-3) and BYU. But, Pepperdine now holds the tiebreaker over both of those schools.
 
That means that if Pepperdine wins its final three matches – all of which will be played at home, where the Waves are 9-0 this season – the MPSF semifinals and final will be played in Firestone Fieldhouse in mid-April.
 
The Waves hit .485 on the night, their second-best performance of the season and the third time in the last four matches hitting above .400. Pepperdine committed only nine attack errors in the four sets.
 
BIG WAVES

• Senior outside hitter Kaleb Denmark (Redlands, Calif./Arrowhead Christian Academy) knocked down a career-high 18 kills while hitting .593 (18-2-27). He also had three digs and three block assists.
• Senior opposite Michael Wexter (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West HS) recorded 17 kills while hitting .536 (17-2-28). He posted a career-high 15 digs for his sixth double-double of the season.
• Senior outside hitter David Wieczorek (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) had a slow start but finished strong to end up with 10 kills, five digs and three blocks.
• Sophomore setter Robert Mullahey (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) directed the Waves' attack and finished with 45 assists and seven digs.
• The Waves' middle blockers, senior Max Chamberlain (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs HS) and graduate transfer middle blocker Kevin Vaz (Paris, France/Cal Baptist), combined for 12 kills on 15 errorless swings. Vaz had seven kills, seven blocks and two service aces while Chamberlain had five kills, three blocks and three service aces.

MATCH STATS 

• PEPP hitting: .485 overall (.560 set one, .312 set two, .458 set three, .682 set four)
• UCLA hitting: .316 overall (.407 set one, .432 set two, .103 set three, .286 set four)
• Service Aces: PEPP 7, UCLA 4
• Digs: PEPP 34, UCLA 34
• Blocks: PEPP 10.0, UCLA 6.0
• UCLA was led by Micah Ma'a's 13 kills and 10 digs.

PLAY BY PLAY
 
It was clear the match would be a battle throughout each set from the beginning of the first, as both the Waves and Bruins went point-for-point with 13 ties en route to a score of 19-19. A kill from Denmark and a block collaboration from Vaz and Wexter put the Waves up by two and forced a Bruin timeout. Two smashes from Denmark and a sneaky delivery from Mullahey kept the momentum on Pepperdine's side, and eventually a service error from the opposition would finish the set 25-21 in the Waves' favor.
 
The second set would be little different, with a total of 21 ties and 10 lead changes. At 23-23, a solid block from Vaz and Mullahey gave the Waves the first set-point opportunity, but the Bruins would fight them off and gather one of their own.  Pepperdine fought off four set-point opportunities from the Bruins, while the opposition would stave off two before coming away with the 31-29 set win to tie the overall score.
 
In a change of pace, Pepperdine came out swinging heavy in the third set, as the Waves took a good lead in the opening moments at 7-3. It was a start that the Bruins would be unable to overcome, as kills from Denmark and more blocks from Vaz accompanied by Mullahey or Wieczorek helped the home squad to an 18-11 lead.  Down the homestretch, an ace from Wieczorek, three smashes from Denmark and a final kill from Vaz shut the set down 25-16 for the Waves and put Pepperdine up 2-1 in the match.
 
Pepperdine continued with the momentum from the third set and worked toward a 10-5 lead early in the fourth. The energy was clearly on the Waves' side from that point on, as kills from Wexter and Wieczorek advanced the lead to 16-10 and forced a UCLA timeout. Denmark had a kill out of the break, and later on a block from Chamberlain and Wieczorek propelled the Waves to a 20-12 lead.  With a sizeable lead, more smashes from the Waves followed by some costly Bruin service errors ended the set with a 25-17 Waves' win.
 
UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine continues its homestand on Friday night (March 29) against Grand Canyon at 7 p.m.