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Pepperdine University Athletics

Jacob Steele vs. Grand Canyon
Martin A. Folb
Jacob Steele
0
Grand Canyon GCU 4-8, 4-8 MPSF
3
Winner Pepperdine PEP 11-5, 11-5 MPSF
Grand Canyon GCU
4-8, 4-8 MPSF
0
Final
3
Pepperdine PEP
11-5, 11-5 MPSF
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Grand Canyon GCU 27 24 18 (0)
Pepperdine PEP 29 26 25 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball | | by Athletic Communications

Three Days, Three Men's Volleyball Wins Over GCU

MALIBU, California – The #5 Pepperdine men's volleyball team hit a season-high .416 to sweep #9 Grand Canyon (29-27, 26-24, 25-18) on Sunday as the Waves beat the Lopes for the third time in three days in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action.
 
The Waves improved to 11-5 overall and 11-5 in MPSF play and dropped the Lopes to 4-8, 4-8. Pepperdine won this weekend's series in three sets, five sets and three sets.
 
BIG WAVES
  • Senior outside hitter Spencer Wickens (Irondequoit, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit HS) had team highs of 14 kills and eight digs and hit .500 (14-2-24).
  • Sophomore opposite Jacob Steele (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./El Toro HS) recorded 12 kills, four digs and two service aces.
  • Freshman setter Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) quarterbacked the offense to its season-best hitting mark and handed out 38 assists while contributing three block assists.
  • Senior outside hitter Noah Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) hit .700 with seven kills on 10 errorless swings, and added three digs.
  • Senior middle blocker Austin Wilmot (Valley Village, Calif./Crespi Carmelite HS/UC Irvine) had six kills and three blocks.
MATCH STATS 
  • PEPP hitting: .416 overall (.476 set one, .324 set two, .500 set three)
  • GCU hitting: .313 overall (.286 set one, .321 set two, .350 set three)
  • Service Aces: PEPP 5, GCU 3
  • Digs: PEPP 24, GCU 18
  • Blocks: PEPP 5.0, GCU 6.5
  • Grand Canyon got 14 kills from Hugo Fischer.
PLAY BY PLAY
 
Though Pepperdine scored three of the match's first four points, Grand Canyon came back and took a 12-9 lead in set one. Pepperdine tied it at 14 on a Steele kill. It was tied again at 17, though GCU scored the next two points, and the Lopes still led by two at 24-22. Facing two set points, the Waves ran off three straight points, two of them on Steele kills. Tied at 27, Pepperdine finally claimed the first set after a kill by Wickens and a GCU attack error.
 
GCU got out to a 3-1 lead in set two, but the Waves tied it at six. A 4-0 run that saw two kills by Steele and two blocks by Dvorak and freshman middle blocker Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS) made it 11-7. Pepperdine's lead was still four at 19-15, and again at 22-18. But the Lopes scored four straight to make it 22-22. The teams sided out until it was tied at 24, and then the Waves won the set after kills by Steele and Dyer.
 
After a pair of two-point sets, the Waves made things easier on themselves in the final one. Pepperdine went up 6-3 after a Steele service ace. Though the Lopes closed within one point at 7-6, the Waves went on a 6-0 run that included an ace by Fuller, kills by Dyer, Wickens and Dvorak, and a block by Wilmot and Dvorak. Pepperdine's lead grew to eight at 18-10 after another Steele ace, to nine at 20-11 on a kill by Fuller, and to 10 at 22-12 on a service ace by senior outside hitter Alex Gettinger (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette HS). The Waves eventually closed out the match on a Wickens kill. Pepperdine had 14 kills and just three errors in hitting .500 in the final set.
 
UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine's home finale is this Wednesday (March 31) against UCLA at 3 p.m. It will be streamed online via WaveCasts. Due to current state and local COVID-19 protocols, fans will not be permitted.
 

 
 
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