MALIBU, Calif. – The #8 Pepperdine men's volleyball team upset #2 UCLA in a five-set thriller Friday evening at Firestone Fieldhouse, advancing to the MPSF Tournament championship match for the fourth time in the last six years. The Waves knocked out the Bruins by way of a 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 16-25, 25-23, 16-14) thriller in front of an ear-splitting crowd. Pepperdine will play the winner of USC/Stanford Saturday at 7:30 p.m., broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
Ryan Barnett led the Waves with 21 kills on .447 hitting, while
Cole Hartke added 16 kills and
Ilay Haver contributed five digs and a key block to seal the game. After the teams split the first four sets, Pepperdine trailed 14-13 in the fifth before scoring three straight points, capped by a match-sealing block from
James Eadie and Haver. The Waves hit .230 as a team and limited UCLA to .188 hitting in the decisive set, while the Bruins committed 28 service errors.
BIG WAVES
Ryan Barnett (R-Jr./Westhampton Beach, N.Y./St. Edward's): 21 kills, .447 hitting %, .818 reception %
Cole Hartke (Fr./Barrington, Ill./Barrington HS): 2 aces, 6 digs, 2 blocks, 13 kills
Ilay Haver (Jr./Tel Aviv, Israel): 4 digs, 2 blocks
Gabriel Dyer (Gr./San Clemente, Calif./UCSD): 25 assists, 4 digs
WAVES VS. BRUINS
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set K E TA Pct
1 8 5 20 0.150
2 14 2 24 0.500
3 7 5 19 0.105
4 11 5 32 0.188
5 7 4 18 0.167
UCLA ATTACK BY SET
Set K E TA Pct
1 11 5 19 0.316
2 13 2 21 0.524
3 11 1 13 0.769
4 13 8 33 0.152
5 8 3 15 0.333
PLAY-BY-PLAY
UCLA jumped out to an early lead in set one, riding a 6-1 surge to force a Pepperdine timeout. Despite kills from
Ryan Barnett and
Cole Hartke, the Bruins' aggressive serving and sharp offense pushed them to a 25-19 first-set win.
Pepperdine responded with grit in set two, jumping ahead 6-2 behind big swings from Barnett and Hartke. The Waves controlled the tempo, getting key defensive stops and a service ace from Hartke to widen the gap. After UCLA closed to within 24-22, Barnett hammered a kill to close the set 25-22 and even the match.
The Bruins dominated set three, swinging at an eye-popping .765 clip to take a 25-16 victory. Despite the setback, the Waves stayed composed heading into the fourth.
In set four, Pepperdine raised its defensive pressure, with
James Eadie and
Ethan Watson combining for key blocks. Dyer kept the offense flowing, setting up Barnett and Hartke for timely kills. Clutch plays down the stretch, including a kill by Barnett, allowed Pepperdine to escape 25-23 and force a deciding fifth set.
The fifth set turned into a heart-stopper. Pepperdine trailed 14-13, facing a UCLA match point, but fought it off with a block from Eadie and Haver to tie the score at 14-all. A hitting error by UCLA gave Pepperdine match point at 15-14. On the next rally, Eadie and Haver combined again for a decisive stuff block, sealing the Waves' 16-14 comeback win and completing a dramatic five-set upset.
UP NEXT
Pepperdine will play in the MPSF championship match Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. back in Firestone Fieldhouse. The match will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
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