COLUMBUS, Ohio – The #5 Pepperdine men's volleyball team kept fighting back, but fell just short of a comeback in a four-set loss to #3 UC Santa Barbara, 25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 28-26, in an NCAA Championships opening-round match on Tuesday evening.
The Waves conclude their season with a 13-7 record, while the Big West champion Gauchos (16-4) advance to the NCAA semifinals.
BIG WAVES
- Senior outside hitter Spencer Wickens (Irondequoit, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit HS) had a team-high 14 kills along with eight digs.
- Senior middle blocker Austin Wilmot (Valley Village, Calif./Crespi Carmelite HS/UC Irvine) had 12 kills on .476 hitting (12-2-21) along with a match-high six blocks.
- Sophomore opposite Jacob Steele (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./El Toro HS) posted 12 kills, nine digs and five blocks.
- Senior outside hitter Alex Gettinger (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette HS) came off the bench to collect five kills, a career-high nine digs, three service aces and two blocks.
- Freshman middle blocker Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS) had six kills and two blocks.
- Freshman setter Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) recorded 43 assists, nine digs and two service aces.
- Freshman libero Trey Cole (Long Island, N.Y./Connetquot HS) notched seven digs.
MATCH STATS
- PEPP hitting: .254 overall (.345 set one, .323 set two, .185 set three, .171 set four)
- UCSB hitting: .336 overall (.567 set one, .371 set two, .118 set three, .316 set four)
- Service Aces: PEPP 6, UCSB 5
- Digs: PEPP 47, UCSB 44
- Blocks: PEPP 9.0, UCSB 8.5
- UC Santa Barbara got 21 kills from both Roy McFarland and Randy DeWeese.
QUOTABLE
Pepperdine Coach
David Hunt said: "It sort of embodies what these guys have gone through all year. I get a little emotional thinking about everything that they've had to go through and endure even to get to this point. And in this match, to keep fighting when it would have been easy to say, 'Hey we've had enough.' I'm just really proud of this group."
NOTABLE
- Pepperdine, five-time NCAA champions, was making its 17th appearance in the NCAA Championships.
- This was the first-ever matchup in the NCAA Championships between Pepperdine and UCSB.
- After playing an MPSF-only schedule in the regular season, this was the first match against a non-MPSF opponent.
PLAY BY PLAY
The Gauchos jumped out to a 12-7 lead in set one and still led by five at 19-14. At 20-16, the Waves rallied. They scored three straight points on a kill by Wickens, a block by Steele and Wilmot, and an ace by Gettinger. Killls by Wilmot and Fuller tied the set for the first time since 0-0 at 21. It was tied again at 23 after a Wickens kill, but UCSB scored the next two points to go up 1-0.
UCSB again took a big lead early in set two, going up 11-5. The lead grew to eight at 21-13 when Pepperdine rallied again. The Waves scored five straight points, which included two kills by Wilmot, a block by Steele and Wilmot, and an ace by Dvorak. Pepperdine closed the gap to two at 23-21 on a block by Fuller and Steele, but ran out of time to complete the comeback as UCSB went up 2-0.
Pepperdine's defense was tremendous in set three. After UCSB had just five attack errors in the first two sets, the Waves forced eight in set three, while limiting the Gauchos to .118 hitting. Still, it required more rallies by the Waves. UCSB scored the set's first three points before Pepperdine tied it at five. UCSB went up four at 13-9, but Pepperdine came back to tie it at 15 and take its first lead of the set at 16-15 on a block by Wickens and Fuller. UCSB went back ahead by two at 20-18 and 22-20. But the Waves ended the set on a 5-0 run behind Gettinger's powerful serve. He had one ace during the spurt, and the Waves also got a kill by Wilmot, a block by Steele and Wilmot, and a set-ending kill by Wickens.
Set four was incredibly tight, with 20 tie scores and six lead changes. The biggest lead was two points for either team. Pepperdine went up 3-1 but UCSB took a 7-5 lead. The Waves went back in front at 13-11, but the Gauchos pulled ahead 18-16. Four consecutive Gaucho attack errors put Pepperdine back in front 20-18. But then the set was tied at 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26. The Waves fought off three match points before the Gauchos finally ended the match with consecutive kills.
