Box Score MALIBU, Calif. — The #8 Pepperdine men's volleyball team downed Cal Lutheran in Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday night, posting 25-16, 25-19, and 25-22 set scores.
 
Pepperdine (15-10, 4-4 MPSF) dominated all three sets over Cal Lutheran (18-11), with a .455 hitting % in the second set, and a .306 overall. Five Waves had six or more kills, while three did so on a .500 output or better.
 
Junior middle blocker Andersen Fuller lead the team with 11 kills, and a .588 clip, while junior opposite Jacob Steele posted 10 kills. Redshirt-sophomore outside Joe Deluzio and senior middle blocker Akin Akinwumi each had seven smashes, while redshirt-sophomore Eli Crane posted six.  Deluzio also led with eight digs.
 
BIG WAVES
Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS): 11 kills, .588 hitting %, 4 blocks
Jacob Steele (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./El Toro HS): 10 kills, .385 hitting %, 2 blocks
Trey Cole (Long Island, N.Y./Connetquot HS): 6 assists, 5 digs
Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS): 31 assists, 3 aces, 6 digs
Akin Akinwumi (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Peninsula HS): 7 kills, 3 blocks
Joe Deluzio (Windermere, Fla./The First Academy): 7 kills, .500 hitting %
Eli Crane (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente HS): 6 kills, 3 blocks
 
WAVES VS. KINGSMEN
Pepperdine led the offensive with 42 kills on a .306 clip, also tallying eight blocks against the Cal Lutheran attack. The Waves also delivered eight service aces and 27 digs, as opposed to four aces and 20 digs from across the net.


 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1         11           4           85        .304
2         18           3           33        .455
3         13           9           29        .138
TTL     42          16          85        .306
 
CONCORDIA ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          7           6            22        .045
2          10         3            28        .250
3          8           6            25        .320
TTL      25        15           75        .133
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The first set opened up with Waves kills, Kingsmen errors, and a challenged call that would be overturned in Pepperdine's favor, bringing a slim lead at 6-4. Cal Lutheran brought a determined defense, but kills from Jacob Steele and Akin Akinwumi would challenge their efforts, providing the Waves with a five-point lead. Another challenged call would favor Pepperdine, giving Bryce Dvorak an ace, followed by another kill from Steele. Brenden Read would later deliver an ace, followed by Akinwumi teaming up with Andersen Fuller on a block, bringing the score to 22-14. The Waves ended set one 25-16 with a block from Eli Crane and Andersen Fuller.
 
The Waves brought momentum to the second set, with an early five-point lead from kills provided by Steele, Crane, and Fuller. Service errors would allow the Kingsmen to put points on the board, bringing set two into a point-for-point battle through 13-12. Another challenged call would favor the opposition, but Pepperdine would sustain a steady lead with Steele and Fuller providing big kills for the squad. A kill from Joe Deluzio would send the Waves into set point, which Fuller would close out with a smash, ending set two, 25-19.
 
Pepperdine opened set three with an ace provided by Steele, and a big kill from Crane, bringing energy, and challenging the opposition. The Kingsmen would gain a slim 11-8 lead from costly Waves receiving errors, but a block from Steele and Fuller followed by a solo-block from Crane would tie the set. An ace from Read ended a battle, providing a 17-14 advantage for Pepperdine. Cal Lutheran would attempt to make a final effort to gain the lead, but strong offensive efforts from Akinwumi and Fuller would be no match for the Kingsmen defense. Brenden Read ended the match, posting a big kill, and finishing set three, 25-22.
 


UP NEXT
Next week, Pepperdine will split home and away with Concordia, first playing in Irvine on April 6 before returning to Firestone Fieldhouse on April 8 for Senior Night.
 
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.