MALIBU, California – Spencer Wickens made the most of his first-ever start at outside hitter for the Pepperdine men's volleyball team, as the senior knocked down 23 kills to lead the #7 Waves to a five-set win (23-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-17, 15-5) over #12 Concordia in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match on Monday.
The Waves (1-0) twice battled back from a set down to beat the Eagles (0-1) in the 2021 season opener for both teams.
BIG WAVES
- In his first three seasons, spent mostly as a libero or defensive specialist, senior outside hitter Spencer Wickens (Irondequoit, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit HS) had a career total of five kills. He hit .541 today (23-3-37) and also had a career-high 13 digs.
- Redshirt freshman opposite Akin Akinwumi (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Peninsula HS) recorded 15 kills along with 11 digs and four aces in his college debut.
- Senior outside hitter Noah Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) provided 10 kills and 14 digs.
- Freshman setter Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) posted 39 assists along with four digs, three kills and two aces.
- Freshman libero Trey Cole (Long Island, N.Y./Connetquot HS) had a match-high 18 digs.
MATCH STATS
- PEPP hitting: .246 overall (.267 set one, .214 set two, .103 set three, .286 set four, .615 set five)
- CUI hitting: .234 overall (.290 set one, .167 set two, .387 set three, .226 set four, -.071 set five)
- Service Aces: PEPP 11, CUI 1
- Digs: PEPP 65, CUI 48
- Blocks: PEPP 4.0, CUI 8.0
- Concordia was led by Raymond Barsemian's 21 kills.
PLAY BY PLAY
The first set was tied at 13 when Concordia ran off four straight points. The Eagles went up by five at 20-15. The Waves chipped away at the lead late, making it 24-23, but CUI got the next point to finish off the first set.
The Waves jumped on the Eagles early in set two and maintained the lead the rest of the way. A 4-0 run put Pepperdine in front 6-3. Kills by Dyer and Dvorak made it 10-6. Another 4-0 run with a pair of Wickens kills put Pepperdine ahead 16-9. At 18-13, the Waves ran off five straight points, including an ace by Wickens. CUI cut the deficit with a 6-0 run, but Dyer eventually ended the set with a kill.
Pepperdine led 8-7 in set three when Concordia went on an 8-1 run, and the Waves didn't have an answer for that as the Eagles went up 2-1.
Akinwumi had two kills as the Waves scored the first four points in set four. Wickens had a pair of kills and Akinwumi had back-to-back service aces the lead grew to 11-6. At 14-9, Pepperdine scored four straight, including an ace by Dvorak, to double up Concordia. The Waves went up 20-10 and ended up winning the set by eight.
It was all Pepperdine in the fifth set after the Waves scored four of the first five points. A pair of Wickens kills, followed by an Akinwumi ace and an Eagle attack error, made it 9-3. Wickens had two more kills in a 4-0 run to push the lead to 13-4. The Waves ended it on a service ace by sophomore
Joe Karlous (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS).
NOTABLES
- The Waves started three true freshmen and one redshirt freshman. The only returning starters in tonight's opening lineup were the two returning All-Americans, Dyer and Austin Wilmot.
- Pepperdine improved to 7-0 all-time against Concordia. It was the second straight year the Waves beat the Eagles in five sets in Firestone Fieldhouse.
- Wickens became the first Wave to post at least 20 kills in a match since 2019. The most any Wave had last year during the shortened season was 18.
UP NEXT
Pepperdine visits Concordia in the second match of this season-opening home-and-home on Wednesday (Jan. 27) at 7 p.m. There will be a live stream through CUIEagles.com.
