PALO ALTO, California – The #6 Pepperdine men's volleyball team was pushed by Stanford on Saturday afternoon, but the Waves prevailed in four sets (25-22, 20-25, 25-18, 28-26) in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.
 
The Waves (4-2, 4-2) won both matches in Palo Alto this weekend to spoil the Cardinal's (0-2, 0-2) season opener. Pepperdine has won won eight straight matches against Stanford.
 
BIG WAVES

• Senior outside hitter Spencer Wickens (Irondequoit, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit HS) had a team-high 16 kills along with seven digs
• Sophomore opposite Jacob Steele (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./El Toro HS) posted 12 kills, seven digs and three blocks.
• Senior outside hitter Noah Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) had eight kills and five digs.
• Senior middle blocker Austin Wilmot (Valley Village, Calif./Crespi Carmelite HS/UC Irvine) recorded seven kills and six blocks.
• Sophomore setter Joe Karlous (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) handed out 35 assists.

MATCH STATS 

• PEPP hitting: .252 overall (.333 set one, .100 set two, .478 set three, .118 set four)
• STAN hitting: .214 overall (.242 set one, .269 set two, .240 set three, .107 set four)
• Service Aces: PEPP 2, STAN 5
• Digs: PEPP 34, STAN 31
• Blocks: PEPP 10.5, STAN 11.5
• Stanford got a match-high 22 kills from Kupono Browne.

PLAY BY PLAY
 
Stanford went up 10-7 in the first set, though the Waves eventually tied it at 12 after kills by Wickens and Steele. The Cardinal led 22-20 but the Waves scored the next five points – two Wickens kills sandwiched by three Cardinal attack errors – to claim the set.
 
A 7-2 Stanford run helped put the Cardinal up 12-7 in the second set. Stanford went up by as many as eight at 19-11, through the Waves closed the gap to three points at 21-18. But Pepperdine couldn't get any closer and the Cardinal evened the match at one set apiece.
 
At 6-6 in set three, the Waves got back-to-back blocks, the first by Karlous and freshman middle blocker Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS), the second by Fuller and Wickens, and Pepperdine didn't trail again. Dyer and Wilmot combined on a block as part of a 3-0 run that made it 14-10. A Wickens service ace made it 19-14, and a Fuller ace extended the lead to 21-15. The set eventually ended on kills by Wickens and Fuller.
 
The Waves jumped out to a 4-1 lead in set four, but the Cardinal came back and tied it at four. The set was tight throughout – 16 ties and six lead changes – especially at the end, as it was tied at 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26. But the Waves finally ended the match after a kill by Wickens and a block by Steele and Wilmot.
 
UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine faces USC in a home-and-home next week, visiting the Galen Center on Wednesday (Feb. 24) at 6 p.m., and then returning home to Firestone Fieldhouse for a 6 p.m. match on Friday (Feb. 26).