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Pepperdine University Athletics

team vs. Grand Canyon
Kyle Cajero
3
Winner Pepperdine PEP 13-5
0
UCLA UCLA 15-6
Winner
Pepperdine PEP
13-5
3
Final
0
UCLA UCLA
15-6
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Pepperdine PEP 25 25 26 (3)
UCLA UCLA 20 23 24 (0)

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

Waves Advance to MPSF Final With Sweep of UCLA

PROVO, Utah – The #5 Pepperdine men's volleyball team has advanced to the championship match of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament after a three-set sweep of #6 UCLA (25-20, 25-23, 26-24) in Friday's semifinals.
 
The third-seeded Waves (13-5), who are the defending tournament champions from the last edition played in 2019, now own a 2-1 head-to-head edge over the second-seeded Bruins (15-6) this season.
 
In an impressive offensive showing for both sides, UCLA enjoyed a slight hitting edge (.432 to .423). But Pepperdine had a big advantage at the service line, with four aces to the Bruins' one, and just eight errors to UCLA's 17.
 
BIG WAVES
  • Sophomore opposite Jacob Steele (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./El Toro HS) had a team-high 13 kills on .409 hitting.
  • Senior outside hitter Spencer Wickens (Irondequoit, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit HS) posted 11 kills on .444 hitting, along with three digs.
  • Senior outside hitter Noah Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) posted eight kills on .412 hitting, plus four digs.
  • Senior middle blocker Austin Wilmot (Valley Village, Calif./Crespi Carmelite HS/UC Irvine) had five kills and four blocks.
  • Freshman middle blocker Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS) had five kills on five swings and two service aces.
  • Freshman setter Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) gave out 33 assists.
MATCH STATS
  • PEPP hitting: .423 overall (.545 set one, .286 set two, .464 set three)
  • UCLA hitting: .432 overall (.455 set one, .458 set two, .400 set three)
  • Service Aces: PEPP 4, UCLA 1
  • Digs: PEPP 15, UCLA 18
  • Blocks: PEPP 5.0, UCLA 7.0
  • UCLA got a match-high 17 kills from Cole Ketrzynski.
QUOTABLE
 
Pepperdine Coach David Hunt said: "We talked yesterday about how the stakes are always going to be high at this point in the season. As competitors, that's something you want. Our guys thrive in that. This year has been all about adapting. I'm proud of these guys and the way they competed. We know UCLA is good. It's good to beat a quality team."
 
Spencer Wickens said: "I'm proud of my guys. We fought to the end. The sets were tight. We kept grinding for every point. We rose to the occasion very well. Playing UCLA anywhere is always a big match."
 
NOTABLE 
  • Pepperdine is into the MPSF championship match for the 10th time in program history and is looking for its sixth title.
  • The Waves and BYU have met twice before in the final, with the Cougars winning in 2003 and the Waves triumphant in 2008. Pepperdine and Grand Canyon have never faced each other in the tournament.
  • Pepperdine is now 3-1 at the MPSF Tournament against UCLA when the Bruins have had the better seed.
PLAY BY PLAY
 
The Waves never trailed in set one and after a kill and a service ace by Steele to make it 5-3, they led the entirety of the rest of the set. A block by Wilmot and Dyer made it 8-5. A 4-0 run that included two kills by Dyer and a Fuller ace pushed the lead to 19-13. UCLA cut the deficit to three but Pepperdine ended the set after a kill by Steele and a block by Fuller and Dyer.
 
UCLA led by two for a fair amount of the second set, but a 3-0 run with kills by Fuller and Wilmot and an ace by Fuller put Pepperdine back in front at 16-15. Tied at 18, the Waves went on a 5-1 run to go ahead 23-19. UCLA scored four of the next five points to make it 24-23. But the Waves ended it on their third set point with a Fuller kill.
 
The Waves jumped out to a 10-6 lead in set three after kills by Wilmot and Dyer and a UCLA attack error, and it was a five-point lead at 13-8 after a Wickens kill. The Bruins rallied, however, and eventually tied it at 18. After several sideouts back and forth, UCLA scored two straight to get a set point at 24-23. But Pepperdine came back and ended the match with the next three points, which came on a UCLA service error, a block by Wilmot and Steele and a Bruin hitting error.
 
UP NEXT
 
The MPSF championship match will be played on Saturday (April 24) at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT. It will be shown online via FloVolleyball. BYU and Grand Canyon play this evening in the other semifinal.
 
 
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