MALIBU, Calif. — The #7 Pepperdine men's volleyball team delivered a gallant attempt at a reverse sweep against Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponent #5 Grand Canyon in Firestone Fieldhouse on Wednesday night, rallying back from 25-18 and 25-21 opening set losses to force a fifth with 25-23, 25-20 third and fourth set scores, but the Antelopes were able to secure the 16-14 final set win and take the victory.
 
Graduate Jaylen Jasper marked the second match of his career with 30 or more kills, collecting on 30 smashes with only four errors on 45 swings for a .578 clip.  It was his third match in a row with 20 or more kills and the 35^th of his career in double-figures. 
 
Senior Akin Akinwumi and redshirt-sophomore Joe Deluzio also hit for double-figures, posting a season-best 13 (.556) and 10 (.304) respectively.
 
The Waves (9-6, 1-2 MPSF) and Antelopes (14-0, 3-0 MPSF) will face again in Malibu on Friday at noon.
 
BIG WAVES
Jaylen Jasper (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck Senior HS/Stanford): 30 kills, .578 hitting %, 6 digs
Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS): 55 assists, 3 blocks, 3 digs, 2 aces, 2 kills
Akin Akinwumi (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Peninsula HS): 13 kills, .556 hitting %, 4 blocks
Joe Deluzio (Windermere, Fla./The First Academy): 10 kills, .304 hitting %, 5 digs, 1 ace, 1 block
Trey Cole (Long Island, N.Y./Connetquot HS): 12 digs, 3 assists
Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS): 7 kills, 1 block
 
WAVES VS. ANTELOPES
Pepperdine marked 64 kills on a .398 success rate throughout the match, while Grand Canyon was good for 58 kills on a .418.  The opposition led with 7.0 blocks and seven aces to the Waves' 5.5 blocks and five aces, but Pepperdine led 31-29 in digs throughout.  The Waves led in both kills and hitting percentage in the final three sets of action.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          12        4          24        .333
2          10        6          23        .174
3          15        1          29        .483
4          17        4          27        .481
5          10        2          15        .533
TTL      64        17        118      .398
 
GRAND CANYON ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          11        1          22        .455
2          13        4          21        .429
3          13        2          26        .423
4          12        3          25        .360
5          9          2          16        .438
TTL      58        12        110      .418
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Antelopes had an early jump on the Waves, posting an 11-6 advantage to open the match.  Though the Waves countered and came within two at the 14-12 mark courtesy of kills from Jaylen Jasper and Joe Deluzio, after an 18-16 score, Grand Canyon started making moves once again.  Late in the set, the opposition went on a 4-0 run to reach set point and a kill from across the net put it away for the Lopes 25-18.
 
The second set began with a see-saw battle through 12-12, but a few costly Waves' errors helped the opposition to a 3-0 run.  Pepperdine would be unable to overcome the gap, falling 25-21 in the second set.
 
In a do-or-die third set, the Waves came out with a strong attack, but the Antelopes still seemed to have the momentum, working towards an 11-8 lead early.  Pepperdine was not going to make it easy though, rallying back with big kills from Jasper and Ryan Barnett, followed by a statement block from Akin Akinwumi and Bryce Dvorak en route to an even 16's on the board.  More Jasper and Deluzio smashes, with an ace from Dvorak at the service line earned the home squad a three-point lead, 21-18.  Though GCU played it tight, the Waves came away with a 25-23 set win after kills from Jasper and Akinwumi helped the cause.
 
The fourth set was a different story from start to finish, and it was clear the Waves were heading to cinqo sets early on.  After an even 7-7, a Barnett ace followed by a pair of Deluzio kills had the squad work towards an 11-8 advantage.  More kills from Andersen Fuller, along with Jasper and Akinwumi increased the Waves' lead to six, 18-12.  The Waves would ride the energy in Firestone to a 25-20 set score, forcing a fifth and final set.
 
The opposition pulled ahead 3-1 to open the fifth, but kills from Dvorak and Jasper tied the score.  The Waves and Lopes exchanged points through 11-11, when an ace from Brendan Read would put the home team ahead by one.  GCU countered and worked to a 14-12 lead, but a service error and a huge Dvorak, Akinwumi Malibu Roofing Company showing fought off a match-point opportunity and tied the set at 14's.  It would be a short-lived swing, however, as the opposition posted a kill and capitalized on a Pepperdine attack error to close the set 16-14 and fend off the reverse sweep.
 
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.