MALIBU, California – The #5 Pepperdine men's volleyball team swept USC for the second time this week, beating the Trojans, 25-19, 25-17, 25-21, in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action on Friday night.
 
The Waves (6-2, 6-2) had a big night serving, with 10 aces to just nine errors, to keep the Trojans (1-4, 1-4) off balance. It was Pepperdine's first home match in a month. The Waves have now won four in a row.
 
BIG WAVES

• Senior outside hitter Spencer Wickens (Irondequoit, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit HS) had a team-high 10 kills on a career-best .692 (10-1-13) hitting. He also had a match-high and career-high four service aces plus three digs.
• Senior outside hitter Noah Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) collected nine kills while hitting .471 (9-1-17).
• Sophomore opposite Jacob Steele (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./El Toro HS) had five kills, three digs and three blocks.
• Freshman setter Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) handed out 28 assists and had two service aces and five blocks.
• Senior middle blocker Austin Wilmot (Valley Village, Calif./Crespi Carmelite HS/UC Irvine) had seven kills and hit .417 (7-2-12) along with four blocks.
• Freshman middle blocker Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS) was in on five blocks and also had three service aces and two kills.
• Freshman libero Trey Cole (Long Island, N.Y./Connetquot HS) had a match-high five digs.

MATCH STATS 

• PEPP hitting: .344 overall (.381 set one, .300 set two, .348 set three)
• USC hitting: .250 overall (.267 set one, .200 set two, .273 set three)
• Service Aces: PEPP 10, USC 1
• Digs: PEPP 15, USC 14
• Blocks: PEPP 9.5, USC 6.0
• USC got a match-high 14 kills from Billy Fauntleroy.

PLAY BY PLAY
 
USC's only lead of the match came at the very start when the Trojans went ahead 2-0. The Waves tied it at two, and went ahead for good on a Wickens kill and a USC attack error to make it 8-6. Another USC attack error made it a three-point lead at 10-7. The Trojans closed to within a point, but four straight Pepperdine points, two of them on blocks, grew the lead to 19-14. A Fuller service ace made it 22-16, and the first set eventually ended on a Wilmot kill.
 
The Waves jumped out to a 4-1 lead in set two after a Wickens kill. A 4-0 run pushed the lead to 14-8. A Wickens service ace extended the lead to seven at 22-15, and the Waves won the set and had their largest margin at any point in the match on a Fuller service ace.
 
Pepperdine also never trailed in set three. A Dvorak ace made it 5-2, a Wilmot kill made it 7-3, and a Trojan attack error made it 11-6. The Waves had a comfortable lead for a while, though USC eventually closed to within one point at 20-19. But Wickens had a kill and an ace and Pepperdine put up two blocks for a 4-0 run to force match point, and it eventually ended on another block.
 
UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine hosts Stanford next Wednesday (March 3) at 6 p.m. The match will be streamed online via WaveCasts. Due to COVID-19 protocols, fans are not allowed to attend.