MALIBU, California – The #8 Pepperdine men's volleyball team was swept for the first time this season as #1 UCLA came into Firestone Fieldhouse and posted a 25-19, 30-28, 25-22 victory in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play on Thursday night.
 
The Waves (14-8, 5-4) were outhit .386 to .167 by the Bruins (18-3, 8-1) and fell to 12-1 in three-set matches in 2022.
 
BIG WAVES

• Graduate opposite Jaylen Jasper (Annapolis, Md./Stanford) had a match-high 18 kills along with six digs.
• Graduate outside hitter Alex Gettinger (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette HS) had seven kills and a match-high seven digs.
• Sophomore opposite Jacob Steele (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./El Toro HS) had seven kills and three digs.
• Sophomore setter Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) handed out 36 assists and had five digs and two service aces.

PLAY BY PLAY
 
UCLA jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set, though the Waves quickly got back within one point at 8-7 after a Gettinger service ace. At 11-10, the Bruins went on a 5-0 run to take a six-point lead. The Bruins led by eight at 24-16. The Waves fought off three set points, two on kills by junior outside hitter Akin Akinwumi (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Peninsula HS), before the Bruins took a 1-0 lead.
 
Steele had an early solo block and a kill as the Waves scored four of the first five points of set two. Pepperdine led by three at 12-9 after a Jasper kill, but UCLA came back with the next four points to take its first lead of the set. Back-to-back kills by Steele put Pepperdine ahead 23-21, but UCLA scored three straight points to go up 24-23. The teams traded points for a while and the Waves held off five set points, but the Bruins finally converted on their sixth try to take the extended second set and a 2-0 lead.
 
The Bruins never trailed in the third set and took a 5-2 lead early on. UCLA slowly grew its advantage and went up 19-12. Pepperdine closed the gap to three at 23-20 after a block by Dvorak and sophomore middle blocker Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS), and to two points at 24-22 after a Jasper kill, but the Bruins got the next point to claim the match.
 
MATCH STATS

• PEPP hitting: .167 overall (.300 set one, .150 set two, .111 set three)
• UCLA hitting: .386 overall (.577 set one, .382 set two, .174 set three)
• Service Aces: PEPP 3, UCLA 6
• Digs: PEPP 29, UCLA 23
• Blocks: PEPP 4.0, UCLA 15.5
• UCLA was led by Ethan Champlin's 12 kills.

UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine faces UCLA again on Saturday (April 9) at 6 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion. The match will be televised by Pac-12 Los Angeles.