COLUMBUS, Ohio – The #6 Pepperdine men's volleyball team saw its remarkable postseason run come to an end Saturday night in the NCAA Championship semifinals, falling to #1 Long Beach State in four sets (25-20, 23-25, 19-25, 23-25) at the Covelli Center.
Despite the loss, Pepperdine put together one of its most impressive offensive performances of the season, hitting .421 as a team. The Waves recorded 53 kills to just eight errors and tallied 52 assists and 31 digs. Reilly led the team with nine digs while Haver hit a sparkling .545 on 14 kills.
The match marked Pepperdine's return to the national semifinals for the first time since 2019 (17th time in the semifinal round) and capped a season highlighted by marquee wins over UCLA and USC, an MPSF Tournament title, and five All-American honorees.
WAVES BY SET
| Set |
K |
E |
TA |
Pct |
Sideout |
Pct |
| 1 |
13 |
2 |
23 |
.478 |
18-21 |
85% |
| 2 |
13 |
1 |
29 |
.414 |
18-24 |
75% |
| 3 |
10 |
2 |
21 |
.381 |
17-25 |
68% |
| 4 |
17 |
3 |
34 |
.412 |
18-24 |
75% |
BEACH BY SET
| Set |
K |
E |
TA |
Pct |
Sideout |
Pct |
| 1 |
11 |
4 |
26 |
.269 |
17-24 |
70% |
| 2 |
19 |
5 |
34 |
.412 |
19-24 |
79% |
| 3 |
18 |
0 |
25 |
.720 |
17-19 |
89% |
| 4 |
18 |
2 |
29 |
.552 |
19-24 |
79% |
BIG WAVES
Ryan Barnett (R-Jr./Westhampton Beach, N.Y.): 13 kills, .5357 hitting, 1 ace, 2 digs
Cole Hartke (Fr./Barrington, Ill.): 13 kills, .333 hitting, 4 digs, 2 aces
Ilay Haver (Jr./Tel Aviv, Israel): 14 kills, .545 hitting, 4 digs
Gabriel Dyer (Gr./San Clemente, Calif.): 48 assists, 8 digs
Jacob Reilly (Jr./Cypress, Texas): 9 digs, just 1 reception error on 25 attempts
The Waves (21-10) came out hitting .478 in the opening frame and taking early control behind a strong serving presence and balanced offense.
Ilay Haver led the first-set charge with five kills, while
Cole Hartke added four. Pepperdine closed the set 25-20, capped by a kill from
Ethan Watson.
In set two, the Waves stayed composed through 15 tie scores and battled to a 23-23 deadlock. Despite three kills from Barnett and four from Watson and a clutch ace from the former, Long Beach State capitalized on a late Pepperdine service error to go up by two even the match.
The third set marked a turning point. Long Beach State hit an error-free .720, and although the Waves received timely kills from Watson, Barnett and Haver, they couldn't overcome the offensive surge and fell behind 2-1 in the match.
Pepperdine mounted a gritty comeback attempt in the fourth. After trailing 22-19, the Waves fought back to just a step behind LBSU with kills from Haver, Barnett, and Hartke. However, Long Beach State responded with consecutive points, including a final kill from Nato Dickinson, to seal the match.
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