HONOLULU, Hawai'i – Kaleb Denmark and Michael Wexter earned spots on the all-tournament team at the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Invitational but the #6 Pepperdine men's volleyball team wrapped up the event with a three-set loss at #2 Hawai'i, 25-18, 25-20, 25-23, on Saturday evening.
 
The Waves fell to 13-5 on the season, while the unbeaten Rainbow Warriors, who haven't dropped a set all season, are now 15-0.
 
BIG WAVES

• Senior outside hitter Kaleb Denmark (Redlands, Calif./Arrowhead Christian Academy) led the team with nine kills on .300 hitting (9-3-20).
• Senior opposite Michael Wexter (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West HS) had eight kills and a team-best nine digs.
• Senior outside hitter David Wieczorek (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) added eight kills, six digs and a pair of service aces.
• Sophomore setter Robert Mullahey (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) had 29 assists.

MATCH STATS 

• PEPP hitting: .355 overall (.348 set one, .357 set two, .360 set three)
• UH hitting: .523 overall (.667 set one, .455 set two, .483 set three)
• Service Aces: PEPP 2, UH 5
• Digs: PEPP 26, UH 29
• Blocks: PEPP 3.0, UH 8.0
• Hawai'i was led by 16 kills by Stijn van Tilburg.

PLAY BY PLAY
 
The Waves came out swinging in the first set but the opposition had the edge and started to pull away after a 7-7 tie turned into a 15-10 Hawai'i advantage.  Pepperdine started to come back late in the action, closing a 20-12 deficit to 21-15 with the help of a Wieczorek service ace.  More kills from the opposition let the home team take a 25-18 set win to get the first advantage of the night.
 
The second set was similar to the first, but after a 5-5 tie score, the Rainbow Warriors went on a run to pull ahead 15-9.  Pepperdine strung some points together to close the gap to 23-20, but Hawai'i was able to close the set with a 25-20 win and pull ahead 2-0 on the night.
 
Pepperdine came out in the third set swinging with effort and staying close to the Rainbow Warriors throughout.  After trailing 14-11, the Waves posted a 6-3 run to tie the set at 17. Each side exchanged points en route to a 22-22 tie, but Pepperdine was unable to continue with the momentum and Hawai'i won the set 25-23 to complete the sweep.
 
UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine has its first home match in a month on Tuesday (March 12) when the Waves host George Mason at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed via WaveCasts on TheW.tv.