Box Score PALO ALTO, Calif. — The #9 Pepperdine men's volleyball team ended the 2023 season in the MPSF quarterfinal on Wednesday night, dropping a tough three-setter to #7 Grand Canyon 25-22, 25-17, 25-20. 
 
The Waves finished the season 16-14 overall.  Throughout the regular season, the squad had posted a 5-7 record against Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponents, having finished ranked fifth in the conference. 
 
BIG WAVES
Jaylen Jasper (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck Senior HS/Stanford): 12 kills, 3 digs
Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS): 7 kills, .700 hitting %, 2 aces
Bryce Dvorak (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS): 29 assists, 1 ace, 1 block
Trey Cole (Long Island, N.Y./Connetquot HS): 5 digs
Akin Akinwumi (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Peninsula HS): 4 kills, 1 block
Joe Deluzio (Windermere, Fla./The First Academy): 4 digs, 1 ace, 1 block
 
WAVES VS. ANTELOPES
Though the teams started out close in the first set, with 12 kills on a .385 clip for the Waves and 13 kills on a .417 for the Lopes, that would be where the similarities would end.  Grand Canyon had a strong showing throughout the rest of the match, finishing with 35 kills on a .382 to Pepperdine's 32 kills on a .160.  The opposition also led with 10 blocks to three and 22 digs to 19, though each team amassed six aces.  
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          12         2          26        .385
2          9          8          24        .042
3          11        9          31        .065
TTL      32        19        81        .160
 
GCU ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          13        3          24        .417
2          10        2          17        .471
3          12        4          27        .296
TTL      35        9          68        .382
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The two teams exchanged points to open the match, working towards a quick 4-4 tie with Waves' kills from Jacob Steele.  The opposition gained a two-point advantage shortly after, but a block from Joe Deluzio tied things up at 8's.  After another see-saw battle, GCU put a few kills down for a three-point lead at the 15-12 mark, but more smashes from Steele and Andersen Fuller helped the cause to tie the set yet again at 20-apiece.  A 4-point run work in the Lopes favor though, and the opposition would win the set 25-22.
 
Although the first set was extremely close, the second set told a different story, as the opposition went on a 6-0 run to open things up.  Fuller then put in his first kill of the set, but the Antelopes had the momentum, working towards a 14-4 lead.  Pepperdine capitalized on a few attack errors from across the net and a kill from Ryan Barnett helped the Waves get in motion, closing the gap to seven, 15-8.  GCU had a lead the Waves would not be able to come back from, however, and took the set 25-17 to pull ahead 2-0.
 
Pepperdine started early in the third set, pull ahead 4-2 with kills from Jaylen Jasper and Akin Akinwumi, but Grand Canyon countered to tie the set at 5's. The teams then worked point-for-point to an 11-11 tie before the Antelopes collected another three-point lead.  Dropping back at one point by six, 18-12, the Waves would be unable to close the gap and eventually fell 25-20 to lose the match in three.
 
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.