MALIBU, California – The #4 Pepperdine men's volleyball team suffered its first loss of the season as UC Santa Barbara pulled off a five-set upset, 24-26, 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 15-7, on Friday night in Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
The Waves (3-1) had just 17 attack errors in the first three matches of the season but committed 30 tonight against the Gauchos (2-3), and also hurt themselves with 29 service errors.
 
BIG WAVES

• Graduate outside hitter Spencer Wickens (Irondequoit, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit HS) had a match-high 17 kills along with four blocks and three digs.
• Graduate opposite Jaylen Jasper (Annapolis, Md./Stanford) contributed 11 kills, seven digs and three blocks.
• Graduate middle blocker Austin Wilmot (Valley Village, Calif./Crespi Carmelite HS/UC Irvine) had nine kills, four blocks and three service aces.
• Sophomore middle blocker Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS) had six kills and a career-high eight blocks.
• Sophomore setter Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) handed out a career-high 50 assists and posted seven digs and four service aces.
• Sophomore libero Trey Cole (Long Island, N.Y./Connetquot HS) had a team-high 11 digs.

PLAY BY PLAY
 
The Waves got out to a 6-4 lead in the first set after a Dvorak kill, but UCSB later went on a 4-0 run to go ahead 12-8. The lead grew to five at 14-9, but Pepperdine came right back and tied the set at 16. UCSB had a two-point lead at 22-20, but the Waves scored the next three points, with a kill by Jasper and a Wilmot service ace. The Waves won the first set after back-to-back kills by Wickens and graduate outside hitter Alex Gettinger (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette HS).
 
UCSB scored the first three points of the second set, though the Waves eventually came back to take a 9-8 lead on a Fuller kill. It was tied at 18 when the Gauchos ran off three straight points, and they went on to tie the match at a set apiece. The set had a total of 12 ties and six lead changes.
 
The Gauchos also had a good start to the third set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. They went up by as many as six before Pepperdine rallied late to get within two points. But the Waves wouldn't close the gap any further and the Gauchos went up 2-1.
 
Pepperdine played its best volleyball in the fourth set, hitting .560. Still, the Waves had to overcame an early 6-3 deficit. They scored five points in a row, with back-to-back-to-back blocks, all involving Fuller, to go in front 8-6. The Waves went up by three at 10-7 and maintained a small lead the rest of the way. At 19-18, Wickens had two straight kills followed by a Dvorak service ace, and the Waves eventually put the set away on a Fuller kill.
 
But the Waves couldn't carry the momentum into the fifth set, as the Gauchos had seven kills on nine errorless swings, while Pepperdine had more errors than kills. UCSB led 7-6 and then ran off six straight points, and eventually ended the match on the Waves' 30th hitting error.
 
MATCH STATS 

• PEPP hitting: .201 overall (.250 set one, .100 set two, .133 set three, .560 set four, -.059 set five)
• UCSB hitting: .238 overall (.000 set one, .269 set two, .167 set three, .300 set four, .778 set five)
• Service Aces: PEPP 8, UCSB 7
• Digs: PEPP 35, UCSB 32
• Blocks: PEPP 13.5, UCSB 16.0
• UC Santa Barbara got 15 kills from Haotian Xia.

NOTABLE 

• Around 50 alums were in attendance tonight, including members of the 1992 national championship team as the 30th anniversary of that title was recognized.
• UC Santa Barbara Coach Rick McLaughlin was an assistant coach on the 1992 and 2005 national championship teams.
• The Waves and Gauchos will meet again on February 4 in Santa Barbara.

UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine wraps up its season-opening five-match homestand next Friday (Jan. 28) against Lewis at 7 p.m. The match will be streamed online via WaveCasts. Ticket information and COVID-19 entry policies for Firestone Fieldhouse can be found here.