PALO ALTO, California – A balanced and efficient attack plus strong blocking helped the #6 Pepperdine men's volleyball team to a 3-0 road sweep (25-21, 27-25, 25-17) of Stanford in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action on Thursday morning.
 
The Waves improved to 3-2 this season while handing the Cardinal the defeat in their season opener.
 
BIG WAVES

• Senior outside hitter Spencer Wickens (Irondequoit, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit HS) had a team-high 10 kills along with six digs and three blocks.
• Senior middle blocker Austin Wilmot (Valley Village, Calif./Crespi Carmelite HS/UC Irvine) had nine kills while hitting .500 (9-2-14) plus a match-high eight blocks.
• Sophomore opposite Jacob Steele (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./El Toro HS) posted eight kills and four blocks.
• Freshman setter Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) handed out 26 assists and had six digs.

MATCH STATS 

• PEPP hitting: .324 overall (.308 set one, .407 set two, .238 set three)
• STAN hitting: .098 overall (.059 set one, .259 set two, .000 set three)
• Service Aces: PEPP 4, STAN 4
• Digs: PEPP 23, STAN 25
• Blocks: PEPP 13.0, STAN 6.5
• Stanford was led by Luke Turner's 13 kills.

PLAY BY PLAY
 
Set one was tied at 18 when the Waves ran off three straight points on a kill by Wickens, a Stanford attack error and a block by Wilmot and senior outside hitter Noah Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS). The Waves closed out the first set on a Wilmot kill.
 
The Waves built a 20-17 lead in set two after a block by Wickens and freshman middle blocker Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS), but Stanford rallied to tie the set at 22. Stanford had one set point at 24-23 but had a service error. Tied at 25, the Waves went up 2-0 after a Steele kill and a Stanford attack error.
 
A 4-0 run early in set three gave the Waves the lead for good. A Cardinal attack error, followed by two Steele kills and a kill by Wickens, put Pepperdine ahead 6-3. Another run that included a Wilmot service ace and a block by Steele and Fuller made it 10-4. Stanford got no closer than three points the rest of the way. The lead grew to eight at 19-11 after a block by Wilmot and Steele. A kill by Wickens made it 21-12. A block by Fuller and redshirt freshman opposite Akin Akinwumi (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Peninsula HS) made it double-digits at 24-14. The match ended on a Stanford service error.
 
UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine meets Stanford again on Saturday (Feb. 20) at 3 p.m. in Maples Pavilion.