Box Score WESTWOOD, Calif. –  The #11 Pepperdine men's volleyball team opened up Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action in Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday night, falling to host #4 UCLA with 25-20, 25-20 and 25-18 final scores.
 
The Waves dropped to 9-3 overall and 0-1 in the MPSF, while the Bruins advanced to 10-3 and 1-0 MPSF.  Pepperdine was led offensively by Cole Ketrzynski who amassed 11-kills, posting double-figure kills for the 10^th time this season.
 
The Waves and Bruins will face once again on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Malibu.
 
BIG WAVES
Cole Ketrzynski (Toronto, Ontario, Canada): 11 kills
Akin Akinwumi (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.): 6 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace
Ethan Watson (Sunnyvale, Calif.): 5 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace
Martin De Chavarria (Palma de Mallorca, Spain): 5 kills, 1 block
Cole Rasic (Huntington Beach, Calif.): 8 digs, 1 block
Tyler Stewart (Broomfield, Colo.): 23 assists, 7 digs
Ilay Haver (Kfar Saba, Israel): 4 digs
 
WAVES VS. BRUINS
The opposition had the edge throughout the match as the Bruins led with 39 kills on a .292 to the Waves 30 kills on a .143.  UCLA also led 7-2 in aces, 31-27 in digs and 10-3 in blocks tonight.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          9          5          28        .143
2          15        5          33        .303
3          6          8          23        -.087
TTL      30        18        84        .143
 
UCLA ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          14        5          32        .281
2          15        4          31        .355
3          10        4          26        .231
TTL      39        13        89        .292
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
After a pair of Martin de Chavarria smashes got things started for the Waves, Ethan Watson found a good spot to pick up an ace and give the squad a 5-3 lead.  Another kill from Cole Rasic shortly after extended the advantage to 7-4.  The Bruins were able to counter, though, tying the set at 7's before each side worked point-for-point en route to a 14-14 tied score.  The opposition was able to work ahead after the media timeout and Pepperdine would be unable to overcome the deficit, eventually falling 25-20.
 
The two teams traded points through an even 5-5 to open the second set.  Smashes from Akin Akinwumi and Cole Ketrzynski helped the cause, but the home squad worked ahead 12-9.  A block collaboration from Akinwumi and de Chavarria and a kill from the former closed the gap to one-point, 12-11, but another string of success for the Bruins pushed them to a 16-13 advantage.  Waves stayed close within one at the 18-17 mark, but the Bruins put some more plays together to win the set 25-20 and take a 2-0 advantage heading into the third set.
 
UCLA got off to a 3-0 start to the third set, but Pepperdine rallied to tie the score with kills from Ketrzynski and de Chavarria.  The Waves capitalized on errors from across the net, working towards a 7-5 lead.  An ace from Akinwumi and another smash from Ketrzynski extended the squad's advantage to three, 10-7.  The Bruins started to close the gap shortly after, however, tying the score at 11-apiece.  The teams battled towards a 15-all tie, but the home court advantage would prove too much as UCLA took an 18-15 lead that they would eventually turn into a 25-18 set win.
 
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.