HONOLULU, Hawai'i. — The #6 Pepperdine men's volleyball team opened the 25^th annual Outrigger Resorts Invitational, a tournament hosted by #2 Hawai'i, with a 25-13, 25-23, 25-21 straight-set sweep over #15 Ball State in Stan Sheriff Center on Thursday night.
 
The Waves (12-4) had the momentum early on with a commanding first set win to open the tournament, and Pepperdine would give no letup throughout the match as the team downed Ball State (9-9) with wins in the following two sets.
 
Michael Wexter collected his 5^th career double-double and the 4^th of the 2019 season after amassing 12 kills on a .550 success rate, along with 12 digs.  Kaleb Denmark followed on the attack front with 11 kills on a .579 clip, while Robert Mullahey dished out the Waves' offensive to a .393 collective effort with 30 assists and eight digs.
 
BIG WAVES
Michael Wexter (New Lenox, Ill./Linoln-Way West HS): 12 kills, .550 hitting %, 12 digs, 1 ace, 1 block
Kaleb Denmark (Redlands, Calif./Arrowhead Christian Academy): 11 kills, .579 hitting %, 2 aces, 3 digs, 2 blocks
David Wieczorek (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy): 7 kills, 2 digs, 2 blocks
Noah Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley HS): 6 digs, 4 assists
Max Chamberlain (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs HS): 6 kills, .385 hitting %, 2 blocks, 2 digs
Kévin Vaz (Paris, France/Palmetto HS (Fla.)/Cal Baptist): 5 kills, 3 blocks
Robert Mullahey (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS): 30 assists, 8 digs, 1 block, 1 kill
 
WAVES VS. CARDINALS
Pepperdine outperformed Ball State in all areas of the game, beginning with a strong offensive output after posting 43 kills on a .393 success rate, compared to the opposition's 32 kills on a .167 clip.  The Waves added three aces, 34 digs and 5.5 team blocks against the Cardinals two aces, 27 digs and 2.0 blocks throughout.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          14        2          28        .429
2          16        3          31        .419
3          13        5          25        .320
TTL      43        10        84        .393
 
BALL STATE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          7          5          31        .065
2          14        6          30        .267
3          11        6          29        .172
TTL      32        17        90        .167
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Waves came out rolling from first serve on, amassing a 6-0 lead over the Cardinals with three-consecutive kills from Michael Wexter and more smashes from David Wieczorek.  Kaleb Denmark then put on a showcase at the service line, with multiple powerful serves featuring a pair of Asics Aces towards a 16-6 advantage.  With a sizeable lead in the first set, kills from Wexter and a block from Wexter and Max Chamberlain shut the set down 25-13 in Pepperdine's favor.
 
With the advantage, Pepperdine came out with the momentum, but Ball State was close behind and stayed within one point through a majority of the set.  After taking the lead 13-11 with back-to-back smash efforts from Wieczorek and Denmark, the Waves had the energy.  Although the opposition stayed within a few points, a big Malibu Roofing Company effort by Wieczorek and Kévin Vaz helped the cause and gave the Waves a 20-17 lead, forcing a Ball State timeout.  In the final moments, the Waves held a 23-20 lead, but a Ball State timeout gave the opposition some confidence and they came out to come within one, 24-23.  Wexter would do the honors, though, and put a smash down to give his team the 25-23 set win and a 2-0 advantage heading into the third set.
 
In the third, the Waves followed suit with the first set, amassing a 7-3 lead early with a block from Denmark and Vaz and multiple smashes from Wexter.  Chamberlain continue the smashing ways for Pepperdine with three ills towards a 17-9 lead late in the action.  That would be the biggest lead for Pepperdine in the set, as the Cardinals started to close the gap in a last attempt to overcome, but the Waves were able to shut the door with a roofing effort from Vaz and Denmark and a final smash from the latter to win the set 25-21 and the match in three.
 
NEXT UP
The Waves continue with the Outrigger Invitational on Friday at 6 p.m. against King in Hawai'i.  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.