Tuesday, May 4
Columbus, Ohio
2:00 p.m. PT
Pepperdine University
vs
UC Santa Barbara (NCAA Opening Round)
Photo by: Martin A. Folb
Men's Volleyball Opens NCAA Championships vs. UCSB
4/30/2021 10:28:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
MALIBU, California — The #5 Pepperdine men's volleyball team heads back to the NCAA Championships after receiving one of the two at-large bids. The Waves meet former MPSF rival and this year's Big West Tournament champion, #3 UC Santa Barbara, in the opening round.
MATCH #20 — Tuesday (May 4) at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio: #5 Pepperdine (13-6) vs. #3 UC Santa Barbara (15-4) at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT in the NCAA opening round.
MATCH #21 — If Pepperdine wins ... Thursday (May 6) at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio: #5 Pepperdine vs. #1 Hawai'i (15-1) at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT in the NCAA semifinals.
MATCH #22 — If Pepperdine wins ... Saturday (May 8) at the Covelli Center in Columbus Ohio: NCAA championship match at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
WATCH/ONLINE — Opening round matches will be shown on BTN Plus. The semifinals will be streamed at NCAA.com. The championship match will be on ESPNU. Links to broadcasts and live stats can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.
NCAA HISTORY — Pepperdine has won five NCAA titles (1978, 1985, 1986, 1992, 2005), which is the second-most of any school. The Waves are making their 17th* appearance and their second in a row, as they reached the semifinals in 2019. This is the fourth time the Waves have traveled to Columbus for the NCAA Championships (they won their first title there in 1978).
UC SANTA BARBARA — Pepperdine is 72-37 all-time against UCSB. The Gauchos won both meetings in 2020, the last time the schools met. The Waves swept the season series the year before. The schools were both part of the MPSF until the Big West began sponsoring men's volleyball in 2018. This will be the first meeting between the programs at the NCAA Championships. In other postseason play, Pepperdine is a perfect 5-0 against UC Santa Barbara (2-0 MPSF Tournament, 3-0 NCAA Western Selection Tournament). UCSB Coach Rick McLaughlin was a Pepperdine assistant from 1991-92 and 2002-05 (and was part of NCAA championship teams in 1992 and 2005).
RANKINGS — The Waves are fifth in the AVCA poll for the third consecutive week. They began the year tied for seventh and have been as high as third.
MPSF RECAP — The Waves quickly shook off a three-week pause in play to reach the championship match of the MPSF Tournament. The third-seeded Waves beat Stanford in four sets and UCLA in three sets before falling to host BYU in the final.
2021 AWARDS — Five Waves received MPSF postseason honors, highlighted by Spencer Wickens making the All-MPSF first team. The former libero and defensive specialist, who moved to outside hitter for his senior year, is averaging team highs of 3.22 kills and 1.71 digs per set.
Austin Wilmot made the All-MPSF second team for the second straight year, and he was joined by Bryce Dvorak. Jacob Steele was All-MPSF honorable mention. Both Dvorak and Trey Cole received All-Freshman team recognition.
Cole and Dvorak received Off the Block Freshman All-American honors. Pepperdine was the only school to put two players on the 10-man list.
Steele (3.60 kills/set) and Wilmot (2.30 kills/set, .429 hitting) earned MPSF All-Tournament honors after the Waves' runner-up finish.
Wickens was the only three-time MPSF Offensive Player of the Week this season. He also received the AVCA National Player of the Week award on March 30 after hitting .500 and averaging 3.82 kills in three wins over Grand Canyon. His other MPSF awards came on February 1 after averaging 4.12 kills while hitting .500 in two wins against Concordia. He received it again on March 1 after averaging 4.17 points while hitting .471 in two victories against USC.
Wilmot received the AVCA National Player of the Week award and the MPSF Defensive Player of the Week award on March 15-16 after averaging 3.00 points and 1.56 blocks while hitting .500 in two matches against UCLA. It was his second MPSF weekly award, as he also got it on February 22 after averaging 2.00 blocks in two wins against Stanford. Wilmot was the only MPSF player to earn two Defensive awards this season.
Cole took home the season's first MPSF Defensive Player of the Week award on February 1 after averaging 2.88 digs against Concordia ... Dvorak was the MPSF Defensive Player of the Week on March 29 after averaging 2.18 digs and 0.64 blocks.
2019 vs. 2021 — With the cancelation of the 2020 NCAA Championships, the Waves are making back-to-back appearances in the tournament. But they're bringing a vastly different team. Noah Dyer and Spencer Wickens are the only ones who played at the 2019 NCAA Championships (they now start at outside hitter, but at the time they were the two liberos). In fact, the only other member of the starting lineup who was on the 2019 team was Jacob Steele, who redshirted that year.
FRESHMEN — Although the Waves brought back almost their entire 2020 starting lineup, three freshmen — setter Bryce Dvorak, libero Trey Cole and middle blocker Andersen Fuller — earned starting jobs, two of them over incumbents.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY — Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports — one of just 18 schools to have accomplished this feat — and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 25 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, California, the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #49 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
MATCH #20 — Tuesday (May 4) at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio: #5 Pepperdine (13-6) vs. #3 UC Santa Barbara (15-4) at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT in the NCAA opening round.
MATCH #21 — If Pepperdine wins ... Thursday (May 6) at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio: #5 Pepperdine vs. #1 Hawai'i (15-1) at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT in the NCAA semifinals.
MATCH #22 — If Pepperdine wins ... Saturday (May 8) at the Covelli Center in Columbus Ohio: NCAA championship match at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
WATCH/ONLINE — Opening round matches will be shown on BTN Plus. The semifinals will be streamed at NCAA.com. The championship match will be on ESPNU. Links to broadcasts and live stats can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.
NCAA HISTORY — Pepperdine has won five NCAA titles (1978, 1985, 1986, 1992, 2005), which is the second-most of any school. The Waves are making their 17th* appearance and their second in a row, as they reached the semifinals in 2019. This is the fourth time the Waves have traveled to Columbus for the NCAA Championships (they won their first title there in 1978).
UC SANTA BARBARA — Pepperdine is 72-37 all-time against UCSB. The Gauchos won both meetings in 2020, the last time the schools met. The Waves swept the season series the year before. The schools were both part of the MPSF until the Big West began sponsoring men's volleyball in 2018. This will be the first meeting between the programs at the NCAA Championships. In other postseason play, Pepperdine is a perfect 5-0 against UC Santa Barbara (2-0 MPSF Tournament, 3-0 NCAA Western Selection Tournament). UCSB Coach Rick McLaughlin was a Pepperdine assistant from 1991-92 and 2002-05 (and was part of NCAA championship teams in 1992 and 2005).
RANKINGS — The Waves are fifth in the AVCA poll for the third consecutive week. They began the year tied for seventh and have been as high as third.
MPSF RECAP — The Waves quickly shook off a three-week pause in play to reach the championship match of the MPSF Tournament. The third-seeded Waves beat Stanford in four sets and UCLA in three sets before falling to host BYU in the final.
2021 AWARDS — Five Waves received MPSF postseason honors, highlighted by Spencer Wickens making the All-MPSF first team. The former libero and defensive specialist, who moved to outside hitter for his senior year, is averaging team highs of 3.22 kills and 1.71 digs per set.
Austin Wilmot made the All-MPSF second team for the second straight year, and he was joined by Bryce Dvorak. Jacob Steele was All-MPSF honorable mention. Both Dvorak and Trey Cole received All-Freshman team recognition.
Cole and Dvorak received Off the Block Freshman All-American honors. Pepperdine was the only school to put two players on the 10-man list.
Steele (3.60 kills/set) and Wilmot (2.30 kills/set, .429 hitting) earned MPSF All-Tournament honors after the Waves' runner-up finish.
Wickens was the only three-time MPSF Offensive Player of the Week this season. He also received the AVCA National Player of the Week award on March 30 after hitting .500 and averaging 3.82 kills in three wins over Grand Canyon. His other MPSF awards came on February 1 after averaging 4.12 kills while hitting .500 in two wins against Concordia. He received it again on March 1 after averaging 4.17 points while hitting .471 in two victories against USC.
Wilmot received the AVCA National Player of the Week award and the MPSF Defensive Player of the Week award on March 15-16 after averaging 3.00 points and 1.56 blocks while hitting .500 in two matches against UCLA. It was his second MPSF weekly award, as he also got it on February 22 after averaging 2.00 blocks in two wins against Stanford. Wilmot was the only MPSF player to earn two Defensive awards this season.
Cole took home the season's first MPSF Defensive Player of the Week award on February 1 after averaging 2.88 digs against Concordia ... Dvorak was the MPSF Defensive Player of the Week on March 29 after averaging 2.18 digs and 0.64 blocks.
2019 vs. 2021 — With the cancelation of the 2020 NCAA Championships, the Waves are making back-to-back appearances in the tournament. But they're bringing a vastly different team. Noah Dyer and Spencer Wickens are the only ones who played at the 2019 NCAA Championships (they now start at outside hitter, but at the time they were the two liberos). In fact, the only other member of the starting lineup who was on the 2019 team was Jacob Steele, who redshirted that year.
FRESHMEN — Although the Waves brought back almost their entire 2020 starting lineup, three freshmen — setter Bryce Dvorak, libero Trey Cole and middle blocker Andersen Fuller — earned starting jobs, two of them over incumbents.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY — Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports — one of just 18 schools to have accomplished this feat — and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 25 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, California, the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #49 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
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/ Men's Volleyball
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/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
