MALIBU, Calif. — In another exciting five-set match in Firestone Fieldhouse on Friday afternoon, the #7 Pepperdine men's volleyball team was able to deliver a vengeful reverse-sweep to #5 Grand Canyon, handing the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponent their first loss of the season 20-25, 23-25, 25-17, 27-25, 15-9.
 
After trailing with a pair of opening set losses to the Lopes (13-1, 3-1 MPSF), the Waves (10-6, 2-2 MPSF) were able to rally and stay alive with the third set win.  The home team trailed 24-22 in the fourth set, but showed no letup.  A kill from Jaylen Jasper, an attack error from across the net and a huge Andersen Fuller and Bryce Dvorak block would give the Waves an advantage at 25-24. GCU called a timeout and was able to fend off a set-point, tying the score at 25's, but another kill from Jasper and an Akin Akinwumi and Ryan Barnett rejection would force a fifth set, 27-25. 
 
Akinwumi opened up set five by reaching his career-high in kills (17), and shortly after combined with a Barnett ace to give the Waves a 5-2 advantage. Back-to-back aces from Akinwumi would strengthen the Waves' lead to 8-2 at the switch. A major block from Fuller would shut down a persistent Antelope attack.  Although Grand Canyon would answer, a Kevin Roberts' kill would set Pepperdine up for match point where Jasper would finish the match with his fourth-straight game with 20+ kills (23), 15-9. 
 
BIG WAVES
Jaylen Jasper (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck Senior HS/Stanford): 23 kills, .487 hitting %, 3 digs, 2 blocks (1 solo)
Akin Akinwumi (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Peninsula HS): 17 kills, .393 hitting %, 4 aces, 5 blocks, 1 assist
Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS): 45 assists, 8 digs, 2 blocks, 1 ace
Ryan Barnett (Long Island, N.Y./Saint Edward's School): 7 kills, .375 hitting %, 3 aces, 2 blocks, 2 digs
Trey Cole (Long Island, N.Y./Connetquot HS): 8 digs, 2 assists
Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS): 4 kills, 3 blocks
Kevin Roberts (Ocoee, Fla. (Apopka HS): 4 blocks, 2 kills, 2 digs


 
WAVES VS. ANTELOPES
Though the opposition had the early edge on the attack, out-hitting the Waves in the first two sets.  The home squad rallied to lead in the following three sets, however, posting .500 clips in the third and fifth sets while giving up .083 and .000 respectively in the same sets to the Lopes.  Overall, the Waves led with 55 kills on a .319 clip, compared to the Antelopes 50 kills on a .300 success rate.  Grand Canyon led with 15.0 blocks and 29 digs to Pepperdine's 9.5 blocks and 23 digs, but the Waves had a nine to four edge with service aces to help the cause.
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          12        6          33        .182
2          10        4          26        .231
3          12        3          18        .500
4          15        5          26        .385
5          6          1          10        .500
TTL      55        19        113      .319
 
GRAND CANYON ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          11        1          20        .500
2          12        3          20        .450
3          9          7          24        .083
4          14        5          26        .346
5          4          4          10        .000
TTL      50        20        100      .300
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
 
The Waves started the first set with an early 8-4 advantage, but the Antelopes quickly answered with five to gain a 9-8 lead. Grand Canyon sustained their lead, even with counter efforts from Akin Akinwumi and Jaylen Jasper, at 16-13. Big kills from Jasper and Ryan Barnett would not be enough to secure the set, with the Antelopes taking set one, 25-20. 
 
A strong start to the second set, with opposition errors and an ace from Joe Deluzio had Pepperdine in a point-by-point battle through 11-11. Some costly Waves' errors would allow the Antelopes to go on a three-point run, bringing the score to 19-14, in favor of Grand Canyon. Pepperdine did not stop there though, answering back with kills from Jasper and an ace from Akinwumi, tightening the score to 22-21. Ultimately, Grand Canyon secured the set with a two-point lead, 25-23. 
 
Pepperdine started set three with a 3-0 lead with valiant efforts from Akinwumi. The Waves held steady, bringing the lead to 11-5 from Antelope service errors, Jasper kills, and Akinwumi aces. A strong Pepperdine attack would prove to challenge Grand Canyon in the third set. Barnett would make a huge impact, with back-to-back kills and a huge block with Akinwumi to bring Pepperdine's lead to 23-14. A set point from Jasper would secure the Waves set win, 25-16. 
 
Grand Canyon would come into the fourth set ready for redemption, but the Waves would be there to answer, with two aces from Barnett giving Pepperdine a 6-3 advantage. Pepperdine's lead would not sustain for long, with the Antelopes matching the score at 10-10. The next Wave's point would quickly be matched, even with big moves from Jasper, Akinwumi, and Trey Cole, giving Pepperdine a slim lead of 15-14. Grand Canyon's blocks would allow them to gain their first lead of the set of 18-16 on a three-point run. A quick block from Akinwumi and a kill from Jasper tied the score, yet again, at 19-19.  Though the Antelopes would reach set-point at the 24-22 mark, the Waves would overcome to win the set 27-25 and then take a 15-9 fifth set win to secure the conference victory.
 
UP NEXT
Pepperdine will face another top-five opponent next week, making the trip to Honolulu to challenge top-ranked Hawai'i on March 1 and 3.
 
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.