MALIBU, Calif. –  The #10 Pepperdine men's volleyball team swept past McKendree, a team receiving votes in the AVCA coaches poll, winning the program's sixth-straight match in Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday since the season began. 
 
The Waves (6-0) commanded the first set 25-19 over the Bearcats (0-3), before shutting down the following sets with a pair of 25-23 results to complete the sweep.  Cole Ketrzynski led the Waves attack force for the second time this season.  It's the fourth match the outside hitter has amassed double-figure kills. 
 
The last time the Waves won six or more games to open a season was in 2009 when the squad won seven-consecutive matches from January 9 through February 11 under Pepperdine's legendary head coach Marv Dunphy.  This season marks the eighth season in the program's 53 years of existence that a team has won six or more matches to start the campaign.  The best-open ever occurred during the 1992 NCAA Championship-winning season when the Waves won 14-consecutive matches to begin the year.
 
BIG WAVES
Cole Ketrzynski (Toronto, Ontario, Canada): 10 kills, 4 digs
Ryan Barnett (Long Island, N.Y.): 9 kills, 3 digs
Martin De Chavarria (Palma de Mallorca, Spain): 5 kills, 3 blocks, 2 digs
Andersen Fuller (Manlius, N.Y.): 8 kills, .800 hitting %, 3 blocks, 1 dig
Ilay Haver (Kfar Saba, Israel): 5 kills, 7 digs, 3 blocks
Trey Cole (Long Island, N.Y.): 6 digs, 3 assists, 26 errorless receptions
Tyler Stewart (Broomfield, Colo.): 28 assists, 6 digs, 1 block
 
WAVES VS. BEARCATS
Pepperdine's successful attack output helped keep the momentum on its side of the court throughout most of the match and the Waves came away with 40 kills on a .333 success rate.  The opposition was good for 31 kills on a .148 clip, as Pepperdine's 6.0 team blocks and 32 digs surpassed McKendree's 2.5 blocks and 29 digs.  The opposition did have a slight edge at the service line with one ace and only 16 service errors, while the Waves did not record an ace and marked 22 service errors.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          12         2          23        .435
2          14        5          31        .290
3          14        3          36        .306
TTL      40        10        90        .333
 
MCKENDREE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          10        6          27        .148
2          9         6          24        .125
3          12        6          37        .162
TTL      31        18        88        .148

PLAY-BY-PLAY
It was a see-saw battle to open the match, with both sides advancing to a 6-6 tie early on.  A pair of near back-to-back kills from Cole Ketrzynski put the Waves ahead by two and another pair of consecutive smashes from Andersen Fuller and Ilay Haver made it 15-11 Pepperdine at the media timeout.  Akin Akinwumi and Fuller connected on a block collaboration shortly before Ryan Graves and Martin de Chavarria did the same to bring the home team to a 21-16 advantage and force a McKendree timeout.  Ryan Barnett went back-to-back on the attack front down the back stretch and the two teams exchanged service errors with the Waves ending 25-19 to pull ahead in the overall match.
 
Two-straight kills from Fuller and de Chavarria opened the second set in the right direction and the Waves used that momentum to build on a three-point lead 9-6.  Tyler Stewart and de Chavarria blocks the next point to make it a four-point spread, but the opposition started to close the gap shortly after, tying the set at 10's.  Each side went virtually point-for-point en route to an 18-18 tied score before a pair of kills from Ketrzynski and Akinwumi put the home squad ahead by two.  The Bearcats brought the score within one at the 22-21 mark, but Akinwumi put down a smash to get the energy back on the Waves' side and Fuller and Haver put in a huge Malibu Roofing Company rejection for a 24-21 lead.  Though McKendree brought the score within one-point once again, a kill from Akinwumi ended the set 25-23 to put Pepperdine ahead two games to none.
 
As it did the day before, the third set told a different tale today and after 6-6, 10-10 and 15-15 tied scores, the opposition worked ahead to a three-point lead 22-19.  A kill from Fuller and an attack error from across the net brought Pepperdine within one and forced a McKendree timeout.  The Bearcats picked up a point after the break, but Barnett and de Chavarria got the Waves back on track with a pair of kills to tie the set at 23's.  The home team stayed composed through two attack errors from across the net to win the set 25-23 and secure the sweep.
 
UP NEXT
On January 26, the Waves will head out on the road for the first away match of the season, trekking to Long Beach State at 6 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.