Thursday, March 9
Malibu, Calif.
6:00 p.m. PT
Pepperdine University
vs
USC
Photo by: Kennedy Duke
Pepperdine Splits Home and Away with USC; Alumni Night Slated for Thursday
3/8/2023 5:10:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. — The #7 Pepperdine men's volleyball team will face a home and away series with crosstown opponent #10 USC this week. Thursday's home match will also be the Waves' Alumni Night and all Pepperdine alumni will receive free entry.
MATCH #19 — Thursday (March 9) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: #7 Pepperdine (10-8, 2-2 MPSF) vs. #10 USC (8-7, 1-3 MPSF) at 6 p.m.
MATCH #20 — Saturday (March 10) at Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif.: #7 Pepperdine (10-8, 2-2 MPSF) vs. #10 USC (8-7, 1-3 MPSF) at 7 p.m.
COVERAGE — Both matches will have live stats and live stream available with the home match going live on Wavecasts via The WCC Network. Saturday's matchup will air on the Pac-12 Network. All links can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.
FOLLOW — Follow the Waves on Facebook and Twitter, @PeppVolleyball, and follow the team on Instagram, @peppmvb. Get all the most recent schedules, results and more on www.PepperdineWaves.com.
UP NEXT — Next week, the Waves will remain home, hosting Harvard and Daemen on March 15 and 17.
LAST WEEK — The Waves played top-ranked Hawai'i last week, falling twice but taking a set off the Rainbow Warriors in the first matchup. It's only the fourth-set loss UH has taken all season by three other opponents.
In the opener, the Waves split the first two sets 15-25, 25-22, but fell 25-22, 25-21 in the following sets to lose in four. Each side of the net posted 54 kills, though Hawai'i had a .420 success rate to Pepperdine's .336. The opposition also led with nine aces, 8.0 blocks and 34 digs to the Waves' four aces, 3.5 blocks and 29 digs. Jaylen Jasper led the way with 26 kills on a .468 output, while Bryce Dvorak amassed his first double-double of the season with 44 assists and 10 digs. Joe Deluzio had a team-best three aces to help the cause as well.
In the final match of the week, Pepperdine was swept for the first time this season, dropping the sets 25-19, 25-18, 25-21. The Waves were good for 33 kills on a .260 output, with one ace, 20 digs and 5.0 blocks, while the Warriors amassed 40 kills on a .405 clip, with six aces, 20 digs and 11.0 blocks. Jasper led again with 11 kills, his first match in the last six that he did not hit the 20-kill mark, while adding a team-high six digs. Dvorak led with 26 assists.
AVCA NATIONAL ACCLAIM — Jaylen Jasper tabbed AVCA National Player of the Week honors this season. For the accolade, in two matches against #5 Grand Canyon, he averaged 5.30 kills and 5.45 points per set, marking 54.5 total points. The production was fueled by a 53 kills effort and a .536 hitting percentage in 10 sets. In the opener, he posted his second career 30-kill effort and did so on a .578 success rate with only four errors on 45 swings. Then in the second matchup against the Lopes, he posted another 20+ kill mark with 23 kills on a .487 clip, leading the Waves to a five-set victory.
MPSF WEEKLY ACCLAIM — Pepperdine has amassed six weekly MPSF honors so far this season, with five offensive nods and one defensive recognition.
Pepperdine collected MPSF offensive weekly honors for three straight weeks during weeks two through four earlier in the season. Bryce Dvorak (1/16) and Jaylen Jasper (1/23, 1/30, 2/20, 2/27) have tabbed offensive weekly nods and Trey Cole (2/27) has earned a defensive nod this season.
WAVES IMPRESS IN THE STAT RANKINGS — After seven weeks of action, the Waves are second the nation with 13.23 kills/set and 12.45 assists/set and fifth with a .357 hitting percentage, while ranking 14th in service aces (1.65).
Bryce Dvorak also ranks atop the nation in assists/set (10.87). Jaylen Jasper is second in kills/set (5.03), third in points/set (5.47), 9th in attacks/set (8.76) and 12th in hitting percentage (.406) among others. Trey Cole ranks 23rd in digs/set (1.99) and Akin Akinwumi ranks 5th in hitting percentage (.459) and 26th in aces/set (0.43).
OPPONENTS — This week, Pepperdine will face crosstown MPSF opponent and #10-ranked USC, a team that has amassed an 8-7 overall record and a 1-3 record in the league thus far. Most recently, the Trojans dropped a pair of four-set matches to #5 Grand Canyon and split with #9 Stanford after posting a four-set loss the first night and a five-set win in the following match. All-time, the Waves hold a 71-41 record against since 1971 when Pepperdine won the first-ever matchup in four sets at home. The Waves have had a few winning streaks throughout the years, including six-straight from 2019 to 2022. Last season, however, the Waves went 2-1 against the Trojans, winning in five sets at home before dropping in the four sets on the road. The teams also faced in the MPSF Tournament Semifinal, which Pepperdine won 3-1.
MATCH #19 — Thursday (March 9) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: #7 Pepperdine (10-8, 2-2 MPSF) vs. #10 USC (8-7, 1-3 MPSF) at 6 p.m.
MATCH #20 — Saturday (March 10) at Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif.: #7 Pepperdine (10-8, 2-2 MPSF) vs. #10 USC (8-7, 1-3 MPSF) at 7 p.m.
COVERAGE — Both matches will have live stats and live stream available with the home match going live on Wavecasts via The WCC Network. Saturday's matchup will air on the Pac-12 Network. All links can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.
FOLLOW — Follow the Waves on Facebook and Twitter, @PeppVolleyball, and follow the team on Instagram, @peppmvb. Get all the most recent schedules, results and more on www.PepperdineWaves.com.
UP NEXT — Next week, the Waves will remain home, hosting Harvard and Daemen on March 15 and 17.
LAST WEEK — The Waves played top-ranked Hawai'i last week, falling twice but taking a set off the Rainbow Warriors in the first matchup. It's only the fourth-set loss UH has taken all season by three other opponents.
In the opener, the Waves split the first two sets 15-25, 25-22, but fell 25-22, 25-21 in the following sets to lose in four. Each side of the net posted 54 kills, though Hawai'i had a .420 success rate to Pepperdine's .336. The opposition also led with nine aces, 8.0 blocks and 34 digs to the Waves' four aces, 3.5 blocks and 29 digs. Jaylen Jasper led the way with 26 kills on a .468 output, while Bryce Dvorak amassed his first double-double of the season with 44 assists and 10 digs. Joe Deluzio had a team-best three aces to help the cause as well.
In the final match of the week, Pepperdine was swept for the first time this season, dropping the sets 25-19, 25-18, 25-21. The Waves were good for 33 kills on a .260 output, with one ace, 20 digs and 5.0 blocks, while the Warriors amassed 40 kills on a .405 clip, with six aces, 20 digs and 11.0 blocks. Jasper led again with 11 kills, his first match in the last six that he did not hit the 20-kill mark, while adding a team-high six digs. Dvorak led with 26 assists.
AVCA NATIONAL ACCLAIM — Jaylen Jasper tabbed AVCA National Player of the Week honors this season. For the accolade, in two matches against #5 Grand Canyon, he averaged 5.30 kills and 5.45 points per set, marking 54.5 total points. The production was fueled by a 53 kills effort and a .536 hitting percentage in 10 sets. In the opener, he posted his second career 30-kill effort and did so on a .578 success rate with only four errors on 45 swings. Then in the second matchup against the Lopes, he posted another 20+ kill mark with 23 kills on a .487 clip, leading the Waves to a five-set victory.
MPSF WEEKLY ACCLAIM — Pepperdine has amassed six weekly MPSF honors so far this season, with five offensive nods and one defensive recognition.
Pepperdine collected MPSF offensive weekly honors for three straight weeks during weeks two through four earlier in the season. Bryce Dvorak (1/16) and Jaylen Jasper (1/23, 1/30, 2/20, 2/27) have tabbed offensive weekly nods and Trey Cole (2/27) has earned a defensive nod this season.
WAVES IMPRESS IN THE STAT RANKINGS — After seven weeks of action, the Waves are second the nation with 13.23 kills/set and 12.45 assists/set and fifth with a .357 hitting percentage, while ranking 14th in service aces (1.65).
Bryce Dvorak also ranks atop the nation in assists/set (10.87). Jaylen Jasper is second in kills/set (5.03), third in points/set (5.47), 9th in attacks/set (8.76) and 12th in hitting percentage (.406) among others. Trey Cole ranks 23rd in digs/set (1.99) and Akin Akinwumi ranks 5th in hitting percentage (.459) and 26th in aces/set (0.43).
OPPONENTS — This week, Pepperdine will face crosstown MPSF opponent and #10-ranked USC, a team that has amassed an 8-7 overall record and a 1-3 record in the league thus far. Most recently, the Trojans dropped a pair of four-set matches to #5 Grand Canyon and split with #9 Stanford after posting a four-set loss the first night and a five-set win in the following match. All-time, the Waves hold a 71-41 record against since 1971 when Pepperdine won the first-ever matchup in four sets at home. The Waves have had a few winning streaks throughout the years, including six-straight from 2019 to 2022. Last season, however, the Waves went 2-1 against the Trojans, winning in five sets at home before dropping in the four sets on the road. The teams also faced in the MPSF Tournament Semifinal, which Pepperdine won 3-1.
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