Box Score FAIRFAX, Va. — Despite dropping a late third set charge to NJIT to open the Uvaldo Acosta Memorial Tournament on Friday afternoon, the #5 Pepperdine men's volleyball team rallied late in the fourth set to defeat the Highlanders. 
 
The Waves (6-1) took the first two sets handily 25-20 and 25-19, before falling in a tight 26-24 third set battle to the Highlanders (3-4).  After trailing in the fourth set, Pepperdine rallied behind a strong collective presence to close the day with a 25-22 victory. 
 
Graduate student Jaylen Jasper hit for double figures for the sixth time this season, tabbing 19 kills to help the cause.  Junior Trey Cole was solid in the back row, contributing 11 digs for his second match this season in double digits.  Bryce Dvorak marked a season-best four aces, while Akin Akinwumi tied his career-high four-ace effort as well.
 
BIG WAVES
Jaylen Jasper (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck Senior HS/Stanford): 19 kills, .353 hitting %, 1 ace, 6 digs, 4 blocks
Trey Cole (Long Island, N.Y./Connetquot HS): 11 digs
Akin Akinwumi (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Peninsula HS): 9 kills, .533 hitting %, 4 aces, 7 blocks (1 solo)
Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS): 38 assists, 4 aces, 3 digs
Jacob Steele (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./El Toro HS): 5 kills, 2 digs, 1 block
Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS): 5 kills, 2 blocks
Joe Deluzio (Windermere, Fla./The First Academy): 4 kills, 3 digs, 2 blocks, 1 ace
 
WAVES VS. HIGHLANDERS
The offensive output was close for both sides of the net, as the Waves led 46 to 44 in kills, but the opposition had the edge in hitting output with a .284 clip to .237.  Pepperdine posted 29 digs to lead the category as NJIT marked 22 in the match, though the Highlanders led 11.5 to 9.0 in blocks.  The Waves posted 11 aces for the third time this season, while the opposition only managed five.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          13        6          25        .280
2          8          2          16        .375
3          16        9          32        .219
4          9          6          24        .125
TTL      46        23        97        .237
 
NJIT ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          10        6          23        .174
2          11        5          21        .286
3          11        2          25        .360
4          12        4          26        .308
TTL      44        17        95        .284
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Pepperdine came out strong to open the match, collecting on a kill from Jacob Steele and multiple errors from across the net to amass a 4-1 lead early.  After going back-and-forth, back-to-back blocks from Akin Akinwumi – one solo and one with Bryce Dvorak – continued the squad's advantage to 11-6.  Akinwumi was fueled from a big presence at the net, blasting down a pair of kills as well as two-consecutive aces to extend the Waves' lead to 18-10.  The opposition started to find some rhythm late in the set, but kills from Jaylen Jasper would shut things down 25-20 in Pepperdine's favor for the early advantage.
 
With the momentum of the first set, Pepperdine once again blasted out to a 4-1 lead after Jasper and Akinwumi combined for a pair of Malibu Roofing Company rejections.  The opposition tied things up at 4-4, however, and each side then worked towards 10-apiece.  Another block, this one from Andersen Fuller and Steele, got the Waves back on track and with smashes from Jasper and three-consecutive service aces from Dvorak, the squad led 22-16 down the final stretch.  The Highlanders picked up a block late in the set, but Jasper and Akinwumi worked out a collaboration to answer once again.  With a final smash from the former, the Waves won 25-19 for a 2-0 lead heading into the third.
 
Each side traded points to open the third set, but after a 13-13 tied score, Fuller laid down a pair of kills to take the edge.  Pepperdine would hold the marginal lead through to a 23-21 advantage, but the opposition was not quick to lay over, putting down a kill and capitalizing on a Waves' error to tie the score.  Pepperdine had a set-point opportunity at 24-23, but the Highlanders answered and eventually took the set by collecting the next three points.
 
NJIT took the lead to open the fourth set, propelled by the high energy of the previous set, though the Waves always stayed close.  After trailing 15-10 at the turn through a 19-14 disadvantage, the Waves started to rally, fueled by another block from Akinwumi with Joe Deluzio, smashes from Akinwumi and Jasper and an ace from Dvorak to start closing the gap 20-18.  A pair of smashes from Jasper, followed by an attack error from across the net and the Waves had the lead, 22-20.  Pepperdine and NJIT traded points, but kills from Jasper and Akinwumi put the squad in a position to close.  As seems fitting to end a solid individual performance from Akinwumi, the match closed with the Wave's fourth ace of the match, making it 25-22 for the four-set victory.
 
UP NEXT
Tomorrow, the Waves will finish the Uvaldo Acosta Memorial Tournament against the tournament-host George Mason at 2 p.m. PT.  The match will have live stats available and will air live on ESPN+. 
 
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.