Box Score MALIBU, Calif. — The #7 Pepperdine men's volleyball team had another successful night in Firestone Fieldhouse against #10 USC as the Waves swept past the Trojans in three sets, 25-17, 25-16, and 25-19.
 
The Waves (11-8, 3-2 MPSF) dominated all three sets, but started strong with a .500 hitting % in the first set, and finished with a .414 overall. The squad did not allow USC (8-8, 1-4 MPSF) to take the lead more than four times throughout the entire match.
 
Pepperdine kept a consistent energy throughout the match, sustaining early leads. Graduate opposite, Jaylen Jasper led the team in kills with 19, while also delivering three aces.  It is his 18^th match this season with double-figure kills. Senior middle blocker Akin Akinwumi and junior setter Bryce Dvorak combined to shut down the Trojans' attack with four blocks apiece.
 
BIG WAVES
Jaylen Jasper (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck Senior HS/Stanford): 19 kills, 3 aces, 5 digs, 1 block
Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS): 30 assists, 4 digs, 4 blocks
Akin Akinwumi (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Peninsula HS): 5 kills, 4 blocks, .625 hitting %
Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS): 5 kills, 3 digs, 1 block, .444 hitting %
Joe Deluzio (Windermere, Fla./The First Academy): 7 kills, .667 hitting %
Trey Cole (Long Island, N.Y./Connetquot HS): 9 digs, 3 assists
 
WAVES VS. TROJANS
Pepperdine led the offensive with 39 kills on a .414 clip, while giving up only 33 kills on a .238 output to USC.  Each side of the net had 5.5 blocks, though the Waves led five to one at the service and 32 to 20 in digs.


 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          15         2           26         .500
2          10         2           16         .500
3          13         6           27         .259
TTL      39         10         70         .414
 
USC ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          11         5            31        .194
2          13         4            28        .321
3          9           4            25.       .200      
TTL      33         13          84        .238
 
FOREVER WAVES RECOGNITION
During sets two and three, the Waves honored those who came before with an on-court alumni recognition.  One alum in attendance was Dave Holden, who played on Pepperdine's first team in 1971.  For his ongoing support of the Pepperdine men's volleyball program, the first chair on each sideline will always display a "Dave Holden Original Wave" chair back cover.  In addition, he will be listed on the Waves Forever plaque in Heritage Hall.
 
In addition to Holden, other members from teams or administration in the 1970's were Marv Dunphy, Ted Dodd, Steve Witowich, Rod Brewster, Larry Vocke and Chuck Nelson.  Two-time Olympian Kevin Barnett, two-time NCAA Champion Steve Friedman, NCAA Champions Joey Fuschetti, John Mayer, Greg Shankle and Jonathan Winder, as well as All-American's Paul Carrol, Brian Merrick, Matthew Pollock and Maurice Torres were also honored.  Rounding out the list of notable alumni were Dijon Douphner, Jimmy Gehrels, Dave Johnson, Joel Lopata, Gary Moy, Brent Schirripa, JD Schleppenbach, Scott Wardlaw and Kevin Wright.
 
It wasn't just men's volleyball alums honored, as legendary former women's indoor and beach volleyball coach and Hall of Famer Nina Matthies, as well as 1990 women's indoor alumna Nora Reyes and 1977 baseball pitcher Tony Cameron also made appearances.
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Pepperdine found an even match at the beginning of the first set with a point-to-point battle through a slim 8-6 Waves lead. Jaylen Jasper would answer the Trojans defense with early kills to help maintain the lead. Pepperdine would go on a 4-0 run to bring the score to 14-9, with kills from Jasper and USC service errors. The Trojans would attempt to counter big kills from Kevin Roberts, Joe Deluzio and Jasper, but ultimately opposition errors and a strong Pepperdine defense would shut down any attempt for USC to close the gap. The Waves took set one, 25-17.
 
The Waves would start the second set off strong, with back-to-back kills from Deluzio and opposition errors helping the squad gain a 7-2 advantage. Costly Trojans errors would push the Waves to a 16-10 lead, and Andersen Fuller would offer big kills to deny USC defense efforts. Pepperdine would gain an edge to close out the second set with a block collaboration from Roberts and Fuller. A Trojans error would close-out set two, 25-16, in favor of Pepperdine, sending the squad into the third set on a positive note.
 
Jasper and Roberts would bring the energy to set three, with kills and two aces from Jasper giving the Waves an early edge and a 5-1 run. Jasper brought power to the court, with two big consecutive kills, boosting Pepperdine's lead to 10-6, forcing a Trojans timeout. Akin Akinwumi was quick to answer after USC's attempt to catch up to the Waves with two kills in a row, bringing Pepperdine's advantage to 17-10. An overturned net violation would give USC the energy to go on a 4-0 run, causing a Pepperdine timeout at 22-19. Later in the action, smashes from Jasper, Fuller, and Deluzio along with Trojans errors would send the Waves into match point. An ace from Deluzio would secure a Waves win, 25-19.
 
UP NEXT
The Waves will meet the Trojans again on March 11, in Los Angeles, at 7:00 p.m.
 
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.