LOS ANGELES, California – The #5 Pepperdine men's volleyball team earned its third consecutive road victory with a three-set sweep (25-23, 25-17, 30-28) at USC on Wednesday evening in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action.
The Waves (5-2, 5-2) and Trojans (1-3, 1-3) will meet again on Friday in Malibu.
BIG WAVES
- Senior outside hitter Noah Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) led the Waves with a season-high 14 kills on .414 hitting (14-2-29). He also had six digs.
- Sophomore opposite Jacob Steele (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./El Toro HS) posted 12 kills.
- Senior outside hitter Spencer Wickens (Irondequoit, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit HS) had nine kills and a team-high nine digs.
- Freshman setter Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) handed out 36 assists.
- Freshman libero Trey Cole (Long Island, N.Y./Connetquot HS) notched eight digs.
MATCH STATS
- PEPP hitting: .348 overall (.400 set one, .375 set two, .289 set three)
- USC hitting: .277 overall (.419 set one, .038 set two, .318 set three)
- Service Aces: PEPP 2, USC 3
- Digs: PEPP 30, USC 33
- Blocks: PEPP 3.0, USC 5.0
- USC got a match-high 22 kills from Billy Fauntleroy.
PLAY BY PLAY
The Waves jumped to an 11-6 lead in the first set after kills by Steele and Dvorak. But, USC would eventually tie it at 15. Pepperdine would bounce back immediately, scoring the next three points on a kill by freshman middle blocker
Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS) and a kill and an ace by Steele. USC closed to within a point at 19-18, but the two teams traded points the rest of the set, and at 24-23, Steele ended the first set with a kill.
Pepperdine never trailed in an easy second-set win. The Waves went up by three at 7-4 and four at 11-7. The lead grew to 15-10, 19-13 and 21-14. A USC attack error gave Pepperdine its largest lead of the set of eight points at 23-15. It eventually ended on a Trojan service error.
Set three was exceptionally close as there were 16 tie scores and eight lead changes. Pepperdine had a 12-8 lead but USC tied it at 13. The Trojans built a 17-14 lead, but Pepperdine tied it at 22. The Waves had a couple of match points at 24-22 but USC tied it up at 24. The Waves fought off a set point at 28-27 and scored the match's final three points on a kill by Wickens, a Trojan attack error and a kill by Dyer.
UP NEXT
Pepperdine faces USC again on Friday (Feb. 26), this time in Firestone Fieldhouse at 6 p.m. This will be Pepperdine's first home match in a month. The match will be streamed online via WaveCasts. Due to COVID-19 protocols, fans are not allowed to attend.
