Box Score MALIBU, Calif. –  The #9 Pepperdine men's volleyball team fell 25-19, 25-16, 25-17 in the first of the team's final two regular season matches against #3 Grand Canyon on Thursday at Global Credit Union Arena. 
 
The Waves (17-9, 5-6 MPSF) and Lopes (21-4, 9-2 MPSF) will face again tomorrow at 6 p.m. in Phoenix for the final regular season match-up of the year.  Next week, the Waves will begin the postseason push with MPSF Championships from April 17-20.
 
BIG WAVES
Alex Mrkalj (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada): 8 kills, 3 digs, 1 ace
Ryan Barnett (Long Island, N.Y.): 8 kills, .357 hitting %
Cole Ketrzynski (Toronto, Ontario, Canada): 3 blocks, 2 kills, 1 ace
Trey Cole (Long Island, N.Y.): 4 digs
Akin Akinwumi (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.): 5 kills
Ryan Graves (Irvine, Calif.): 13 assists, 4 digs
Tyler Stewart (Broomfield, Colo.): 10 assists
 
WAVES VS. LOPES
Grand Canyon had the edge throughout the match, leading with 38 kills on a .361 success rate compared to Pepperdine's 27 kills on a .118 clip.  Though each side amassed a trio of aces, the Lopes led 8-6 in blocks and 25-18 in digs.
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          10        6          31        .129
2          11        3          23        .348
3          6          9          22        -.136
TTL      27        18        76        .118
 
GRAND CANYON ATTACK BY SET
Set       K          E          TA        Pct
1          13        5          28        .286
2          12        0          20        .600
3          13        7          24        .250
TTL      38        12        72        .361
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
After exchanging points to start the match, a few kills from GCU would give the home team a slight lead 6-4.  Ryan Graves and Martin de Chavarria connected on a block effort and Alex Mrkalj and Cole Ketrzynski followed up with a kill, ace combo to tie things up at 8's.  Shortly after, however, the opposition would string a run together and eventually lead 19-11 down the stretch.  Another block – this time from de Chavarria with Ketrzynski – and multiple kills from Akin Akinwumi helped close the gap marginally, but the Lopes came away with the 25-19 set win to open.
 
With the momentum on Grand Canyon's side of the court heading into the next set, the Lopes came out to a 10-4 advantage.  Ryan Barnett and Mrkalj blasted a few down on the opposition and Mrkalj followed up with an ace, but the Lopes' advantage was unphased as the Waves eventually trailed 23-11.  A late surge featuring smashes by Barnett and Mrkalj, as well as a Cole Rasic ace, helped breathe some fire under Pepperdine, but Grand Canyon was able to end the set with a 25-16 win.
 
Despite the late momentum for the Waves in the previous set and a 4-4 open to the third, the Lopes went on a 4-0 run to force a Pepperdine timeout.  The Waves brought the score within three, 10-7, with kills from Ketrzysnki and Barnett, but the Lopes went on another run shortly after to pull ahead further, 20-12.  Another pair of blocks from James Eadie with either Rasic or Ketrzynski continued to keep Pepperdine in the match, but Grand Canyon eventually finished the match with a 25-17 final set.  
 
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.