MALIBU, California – A balanced attack saw five players record between six and eight kills and the #8 Pepperdine men's volleyball team defeated Jamestown in three sets (25-23, 25-20, 25-17) on Wednesday night.
 
The Waves improved to 8-6 on the season and 5-1 in Firestone Fieldhouse. Jamestown, an NAIA school from North Dakota, was playing this match as an exhibition.
 
BIG WAVES

• Senior outside hitter Noah Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) had a team-high eight kills along with three digs and two blocks.
• Freshman opposite Scott Solan (Las Vegas, Nev./West Career & Technical Academy) posted seven kills and three digs.
• Junior outside hitter Alex Gettinger (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette HS) had seven kills and match highs of eight digs and four aces.
• Junior middle blocker Austin Wilmot (Valley Village, Calif./Crespi Carmelite HS/UC Irvine) hit .538 (7-0-13) with his seven kills, plus three blocks.
• Redshirt freshman opposite Jacob Steele (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./El Toro HS) collected six kills, six digs and three blocks.
• Freshman Joe Karlous (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) and senior Rob Mullahey (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) split time at setter and finished with 18 and 16 assists, respectively.

MATCH STATS 

• PEPP hitting: .294 overall (.273 set one, .235 set two, .444 set three)
• UJ hitting: .112 overall (.289 set one, .032 set two, -.034 set three)
• Service Aces: PEPP 7, UJ 0
• Digs: PEPP 30, UJ 31
• Blocks: PEPP 8.5, UJ 5.0
• Jamestown got a match high 11 kills from Clark Steele, the brother of Pepperdine's Jacob.

PLAY BY PLAY
 
Set number one was the closest of the match. Jamestown led 12-11 when the Waves went on a 6-1 run, which included an ace and a kill by Gettinger, a kill by Steele and an ace by Wilmot, making it 17-13. It was still a four-point lead at 23-19 but the Jimmies came back with four straight points to tie it. But, the Waves got a point on a service error and followed that with a Wilmot kill to end the first set.
 
At 6-5 in the second set, Gettinger got a kill and then recorded three consecutive service aces to make it 10-5. At 17-13, the Waves scored three straight points on a Jamestown attack error, a block by Wilmot and Steele and a kill by Gettinger. An attack error gave Pepperdine an eight-point margin at 24-16 and though Jamestown scored the next four points, the Waves ended it on a block by Mullahey and redshirt freshman middle blocker JT Ardell (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West HS).
 
A Steele service ace helped the Waves to a 6-3 lead in set three, though Jamestown would eventually tie it at 11. But the Waves immediately came back with a 4-1 run, which included kills by Wilmot and Dyer. At 16-14, Pepperdine scored six straight points with a block by Dyer and Ardell and kills by Steele and Gettinger. The teams traded points the rest of the way and the Waves concluded the match on a Steele kill.
 
UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine hosts #9 UCLA on Friday (March 13) at 7 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse. The match will be streamed via WaveCasts with Al Epstein on the call. Per new attendance restrictions put into place, fans will not be permitted in the venue beyond two family members per student-athlete or coach.