MALIBU, Calif. — The #5 Pepperdine men's volleyball team had another strong offensive day in Firestone on Monday night, as the squad swept past its third opponent in the last four days, defeating Princeton 25-17, 25-23 and 25-19. 
 
The Waves (4-0) pounded down in all three sets, hitting above .533 in the first two sets alone and .493 overall, while keeping the Tigers (1-3) to a .300 clip throughout the match.  Junior setter Bryce Dvorak, who garnered the Waves' first seasonal MPSF Offensive Player of the Week nod earlier today, dished out 38 assists, while completing the well-rounded effort with a team-high three aces and four blocks. 
 
Graduate opposite Jaylen Jasper led the team for the second time this season after posting 18 kills on a season-best .556 success rate.  Junior middle blocker Andersen Fuller also marked a career-high hitting percentage after tabbing seven kills on eight errorless swings for a .875 clip.
 
BIG WAVES
Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS): 38 assists, 3 aces, 4 blocks, 3 digs, 2 kills
Jaylen Jasper (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck Senior HS/Stanford): 18 kills, .556 hitting %, 4 digs, 1 block
Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS): 7 kills, .875 hitting %, 3 blocks
Joe Deluzio (Windermere, Fla./The First Academy): 8 kills, .375 hitting %, 4 blocks
Jacob Steele (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./El Toro HS): 7 kills, 3 assists, 5 digs, 1 ace, 2 digs
Akin Akinwumi (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Peninsula HS): 3 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace
Trey Cole (Long Island, N.Y./Connetquot HS): 7 digs
 


WAVES VS. TIGERS
Pepperdine had the edge offensively, tabbing 45 kills on the impressive success rate, while giving up 36 kills to Princeton.  The Waves also delivered at the service line with five aces to one, while maintaining a strong defensive output by leading the match 24 to 15 in digs and 6.5 to 5.5 in blocks.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          14        2          21        .571
2          18        2          30        .533
3          13        4          24        .375
TTL      45        8          75        .493
 
PRINCETON ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          12        3          22        .409
2          14        2          28        .429
3          10        7          30        .100
TTL      36        12        80        .300
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Waves and Tigers came out firing to open the match, exchanging points en route to a 5-5 tied score before a pair of blocks from Bryce Dvorak with either Andersen Fuller or Akin Akinwumi would edge the home squad towards a 12-7 advantage.  Pepperdine would continue to attack offensively and a pair of kills from Fuller and Jaylen Jasper helped propel the squad to an 18-14 lead towards the back end of the set.  Despite an attempt to ice Dvorak's serve with a Princeton timeout, the junior setter would find his rhythm for three near-consecutive aces, including one that came by way of a reversed challenge call.  A kill from Akinwumi and an error from across the net ended the set 25-17.
 
Despite falling behind 3-0 to open the next set, kills from Jacob Steele and Joe Deluzio, along with an ace from Akinwumi would help the Waves tie and regain the lead 5-4.  The match was then a see-saw battle to a 12-12 tied score, though a pair of Tigers' errors helped the Waves to a two-point lead shortly after.  It would be just the edge Pepperdine needed, as more smashes from Akinwumi, Jasper and Fuller kept the squad ahead towards a 22-19 lead.  The opposition was able to answer marginally, coming within one-point at the 24-23 mark, but a kill from Steele would shut things down before they started and send the squad into the third set on a positive note.
 
Pepperdine was ready to close things up in the third set, coming out of the gates with a 6-2 run courtesy of a Akinwumi, Steele block collaboration and kills from Deluzio and Jasper.  Another Malibu Roofing Company rejection featuring Steele, Fuller and Dvorak kept the squad moving forward and kills from Fuller, Jasper and Deluzio made it 11-7.  Offense was still prevalent in this set, as more kills from Jasper and Steele boosted the squad's advantage to 20-15 late in the action.  Steele then picked up an ace, forcing a Princeton timeout.  The Waves wouldn't allow the Tigers to regroup, however, and kills from Deluzio and Jasper ended the set 25-19 and completed the team's fourth-straight sweep.
 
UP NEXT
This week, the Waves will hit the road for the First Point Collegiate Challenge, challenging #4 Penn State and #15 Lewis on January 20 and 21 respectively.
 
FOLLOW
Follow the Waves on Facebook and Twitter, @WavesVolleyball, and follow the team on Instagram, @peppvolley.  Get all the most recent schedules, results and more on www.PepperdineWaves.com.