Pepperdine University
#17 UC Santa Barbara
#12 Waves Set to Face #17 Gauchos Twice this Week
2/6/2024 8:39:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. — The #12 Pepperdine men's volleyball team will face UC Santa Barbara twice this week, first heading up north on Thursday before hosting the Gauchos at home on Saturday.
MATCH #10 — Thursday (February 8) at Rob Gym in Santa Barbara, Calif.: #12 Pepperdine (7-2) at #17 UC Santa Barbara (4-7) at 6 p.m. | ESPN+
MATCH #11 — Saturday (February 10) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: #12 Pepperdine (7-2) vs. #17 UC Santa Barbara (4-7) at 5 p.m. | ESPN+
COVERAGE — The matches this week will stream live on ESPN+. Live scoring will be available for all matches. Links can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.
UP NEXT — Next week, Pepperdine will face UCLA in a pair of matches, heading to Westwood on February 14 before hosting the Bruins on February 17.
TICKETS & SPECTATOR GUIDELINES — Tickets to all Pepperdine home men's volleyball matches in 2024 will be available via e-ticket only at tickets.pepperdinewaves.com. Pepperdine faculty, staff and students must show Pepperdine ID card for entry — no ticket purchase is required.
Due to campus construction, nearby parking is limited and guests are advised to arrive early. Each match costs $13 for adults, $8 for seniors (65+) and $5 for children and non-Pepperdine students.
PROMOTIONS — The match on February 10 will be 'Neighborhood Night' for the Waves, with free shaved ice for the first 100 fans, an autograph session after the game and more. For discounted tickets for your group of 10 or more, reach out to the Pepperdine Ticket Office.
FOLLOW — Follow the Waves on Facebook and X, @PeppVolleyball, and follow the team on Instagram and TikTok, @peppmvb. Get all the most recent schedules, results and more on www.PepperdineWaves.com.
RANKINGS — Pepperdine is ranked #12 in the AVCA national poll this week after three-consecutive weeks at #10. The Waves began the season at #13 and moved up each of the first two weeks of action. In addition to the team ranking, the Waves have been making quite the splash on the team and individual stat rankings in this early season. Pepperdine ranks top-15 nationally and first or second in the MPSF in six statistical categories. The Waves lead the MPSF in digs (9.48), attacks (26.07) and opponent hitting percentage (.140) and second in aces (1.79), assists (12.03) and kills (12.62). The squad is also top five national in assists, digs, kills and opponent hitting percentage.
Martin de Chavarria leads the MPSF and ranks second nationally with 1.54 blocks. Trey Cole also leads the league and ranks sixth nationally, with 2.48 digs. Cole Ketrzynski ranks nationally in five separate categories, including 10th with 7.79 attacks and 15th with 4.29 points to name a few.
LAST WEEK — Pepperdine faced #16 Princeton and FDU last week out east, first falling in three to the Tigers (25-19, 25-23, 25-23) before sweeping past the Knights (26-24, 25-17, 25-18). Against Princeton, the Waves marked 40 kills on a. 325 clip, while the opposition posted 40 kills on a .435 output. Each team collected five aces, but the Waves' 17 service errors to the Tigers nine played a factor. Cole Ketrzynski led the team with 12 kills on a .400 percentage, while he and Martin de Chavarria led with three blocks apiece. Vladimir Kubr and Ryan Graves teamed up on playmaking duties with 18 and 13 assists respectively, while Ketrzynski and Cole Rasic led the team with four digs. Five separate Waves tabbed one ace throughout the match.
Against FDU, each team picked up 39 kills, but Pepperdine led with a .372 success rate to FDU's .198. The Waves led the match with 8.0 blocks to 1.5 and five aces to one as well. Akin Akinwumi marked his first double-double of the season, and the second of his career, with 16 kills (.438) and 10 digs. Ketrzynski posted double-figure kills again with 11 as well. Ethan Watson led Pepperdine with six blocks, including two solo rejections and five separate Waves tabbed an ace.
SQUAD — The Waves have gone 7-2 to start the campaign this season and have won five of those matches in straight sets. As a team, Pepperdine produces 12.62 kills on a .347 clip, while adding 12.03 assists, 1.79 aces, 9.48 digs and 2.40 blocks. The squad gives up only 9.17 kills on a .140 output on average, along with 0.86 aces, 7.79 digs and 1.88 blocks per set.
Cole Ketrzynski and Ryan Barnett lead the attack output for the Waves with 3.50 and 2.54 kills/set respectively. Ketrzynski leads the team with 84 total kills, while Barnett has amassed 61 on a .347 success rate. Martin de Chavarria, Andersen Fuller and Ketrzynski lead the squad at the net with 1.54, 0.80 and 0.75 blocks/set respectively. De Chavarria has produced 37 blocks, with six solo rejections. Ketrzynski also leads the team with 10 aces and 0.42 aces/set so far this season.
Fuller and Barnett are next in line with seven, while Tyler Stewart and Cole Rasic have added six apiece. Trey Cole has marked a team-best 2.48 digs/set, tallying 67 digs this season. Tyler Stewart, Ryan Graves and Vladimir Kubr have each seen time in playmaking duties, having put up 8.32, 5.25 and 9.00 assists/set respectively.
OPPONENT — UC Santa Barbara has gone 4-7 so far this season, though the Gauchos have played nationally ranked opponents in eight of those matches. The highlight of the year for UCSB so far was a five-set win over then-ranked #2 UCLA in late January. Last week, the Gauchos lost to Princeton and Daemen, but swept Harvard. Pepperdine leads UC Santa Barbara 73-41 all-time, dating back to 1971 when the opposition won in four in Malibu. Last year, the Waves and Gauchos split with Pepperdine winning in three at home and UCSB winning in five on the road. Since 2020, the Gauchos have collected a 6-1 record against the Waves.
