MALIBU, California – Jacob Steele had 12 kills and JT Ardell had nine blocks to highlight the #7 Pepperdine men's volleyball team's three-set sweep (25-21, 25-23, 25-22) over visiting USC on Friday night in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.
 
The Waves (6-3, 3-1) defeated the Trojans (2-10, 0-3) for the ninth time in the last 10 meetings in Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
The Waves served (seven aces and seven service errors vs. USC's three aces and 13 errors) and blocked (13.5 to 3.0) their way to the win.
 
BIG WAVES

• Redshirt freshman opposite Jacob Steele (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./El Toro HS) led all players with his 12 kills and .524 hitting (12-1-21). He also had eight digs and three block assists.
• Redshirt freshman middle blocker JT Ardell (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West HS) notched a career-best nine block assists and had four kills on six swings.
• Senior outside hitter Noah Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) had five kills, eight digs and five block assists.
• Junior outside hitter Alex Gettinger (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette HS) had four kills, four aces, seven digs and five block assists.
• Junior middle blocker Austin Wilmot (Valley Village, Calif./Crespi Carmelite HS/UC Irvine) had eight kills on .583 hitting (8-1-12) and four block assists.
• Freshman setter Joe Karlous (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) handed out 30 assists.

MATCH STATS 

• PEPP hitting: .287 overall (.308 set one, .143 set two, .423 set three)
• USC hitting: .234 overall (.242 set one, .167 set two, .312 set three)
• Service Aces: PEPP 7, USC 3
• Digs: PEPP 31, USC 34
• Blocks: PEPP 13.5, USC 3.0
• USC got nine kills apiece from Brandon Browning and Kyle Gear.

PLAY BY PLAY
 
USC jumped out to a 6-2 lead in set one, though three consecutive service aces by Gettinger tied the set at seven apiece. The Waves went up 13-10 after a block by Steele and Ardell, but the Trojans would eventually tie it back up at 17. The Waves then finally broke away with a pair of 3-0 runs, the latter on an Ardell kill, a block by Ardell and Gettinger and a Steele kill to make it 23-18. Steele eventually ended the set with a kill.
 
Tied at nine in set two, the Waves reeled off seven straight points, which included two aces by Dyer and two blocks by Ardell and Gettinger. But that 16-9 lead wouldn't last, as USC would come right back with a run of its own to take an 18-17 advantage. Tied at 21, the Waves took the lead on a Trojan attack error and a Karlous service ace. The teams traded sideouts from there and Pepperdine ended it on a Steele kill.
 
USC had a small lead for the first part of set three, but a 5-1 run that included two blocks involving Wilmot and an ace by Gettinger put Pepperdine ahead 14-12. Tied at 17, the Waves ran off three straight points on a block by Ardell and Steele, a USC attack error and a kill by Steele. USC would close the gap to one point at 20-19, but another 3-0 run by the Waves, with kills by Steele and Wilmot, pushed the lead to 23-19. Wilmot had the Waves' final three kills, including the match-ender.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Waves next visit UC Santa Barbara for a non-conference match on Friday (Feb. 21) at 7 p.m.