MALIBU, Calif. — The #9 Pepperdine men's volleyball team faced off against UCLA in Firestone Fieldhouse on Thursday night for the last time this season, but fell in four sets 30-32, 25-21, 25-23, 25-23.
 
The Waves (16-12, 5-6 MPSF) battled against the Bruins (26-2, 11-0 MPSF) for four sets with a .355 hitting percentage in the first set to the opposition's .364.  Though UCLA would have the edge in the following three sets to take the win.  Graduate opposite, Jaylen Jasper led the team in kills with 17, posting his 46th career match in double-figure kills.  
 
BIG WAVES
Jaylen Jasper (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck Senior HS/Stanford): 17 kills
Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS): 8 kills, .583 hitting %, 6 blocks (1 solo)
Jacob Steele (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./El Toro HS): 9 kills, 4 digs, 2 blocks
Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS): 43 assists, 7 digs, 1 ace
Akin Akinwumi (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Peninsula HS): 7 kills, 4 digs
Joe Deluzio (Windermere, Fla./The First Academy): 11 kills
 
WAVES VS. BRUINS
Pepperdine and UCLA held a competitive game throughout the whole match, consistently going point-for-point with 14 lead changes and 49 tied scores across four sets. The Bruins led the attack with 54 kills on a .349 clip, but the Waves were close behind, totaling 53 on a .261.   Pepperdine was able to deliver three service aces across the net, and seven blocks against the UCLA attack, though the opposition marked five aces and 15.5 blocks.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          16          5           31         .355
2          11          7           20         .200
3          17          5           41         .293
4           9           6           23         .130
TTL      53         23         115       .261
 
UCLA ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          17          5          33         .364
2          7            4          14         .214
3           15          2          31         .419
4          15          6          28         .321
TTL      54          17       106        .349
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Jaylen Jasper opened up the set with a kill to start his last match in Firestone Fieldhouse. The Waves and Bruins started point-for-point, with strong attack efforts on both sides of the net. Akin Akinwumi and Jacob Steele were quick to deliver smashes to UCLA, bringing the squad closer to closing the 10-8 gap. A challenged call would stay with the Waves, bringing set one within three, 16-13. Brenden Read would enter the match to deliver a service ace, followed by a Bruin error, tying the match once again at 17's. Pepperdine continued to deliver with kills from Steele and Andersen Fuller maintaining a battle for the lead. Steele highlighted his final match in Malibu by finishing a long rally that ended with a point to Pepperdine.  Bryce Dvorak would send the squad into set point on a power kill. Set point went back to the Bruins on a service error and ace, but an overturned call would favor the Waves, giving Pepperdine set point once again. Steele delivered a kill the Bruins could not defend and the Waves took set one, 32-30.
 
With energy from set one, Jasper started the second off with back-to-back kills. Pepperdine found themselves in another tie, until Jasper made way for a two-point lead at 8-6. Steele found a point on a solo block, allowing the Waves to roll past the Bruins to a lead. Costly service errors on both ends would result in many points. A challenged call would be overturned in favor of Pepperdine, but UCLA would go on a 3-0 run making the score 22-21 in favor of the opponent. The Bruins took set two, 25-21.
 
Steele and Jasper opened set three with kills a Bruin defense would be unable to defend. Joe Deluzio created room for the Waves on the board with efforts on attack partnered with Jasper. Another overturned call on a blocking error favored Pepperdine, quickly followed by a Jasper nail, bringing the set to 14-11. Set three turned into another point-for-point battle between the Waves and Bruins, until UCLA was able to go on a 3-0 run, taking the advantage. A kill from Fuller changed the pace, and Steele and Akinwumi added a duo-block straight after. Ultimately, the Waves were unable to catch up to the Bruins, and UCLA took set three, 25-23.
 
Set four started with a solo block by Fuller, followed by another block by Fuller that was accompanied by Jasper. Fuller tied the score, 6-6 and an overturned challenged call would give Akinwumi a service ace. Another challenged call by the Bruins would stand with the Waves, but the score stood with UCLA, 17-14. Akinwumi, Steele, Jasper delivered kills while Deluzio and Fuller collaborated on a block to attempt to catch up to the Bruins. In the end, UCLA took the set 25-23 to close the match.
 
UP NEXT
The Waves will head to Pauley Pavillion to face off with the Bruins once again on April 15 at 7:00 pm.
 
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.