CHICAGO, Ill. –  The Pepperdine men's volleyball team (3-1), who landed at No. 6 in the AVCA national poll this week, swept No. 7 Loyola Chicago (2-3) for the first top-10 win of the season.
 
"It was a phenomenal response from the guys tonight after not playing how we want to last week," head coach Jonathan Winder said. "We fought all the way even when up or down, and Andrej made some superb plays at critical moments to win the game. Just really proud of how we played the game with our intensity and doing all the little plays tonight."
 
The Waves first road match of the season was a top-10 matchup and an NCAA quarterfinal rematch with the Loyola Chicago Ramblers. Last season, Pepperdine defeated Loyola Chicago 3-1 to advance to the National Semifinals. This afternoon, the Waves were able to convincingly handle the windy city opponents, outlasting them in the third and final set as it went to extra points to pull off the sweep.
 
Starting the match out, the Waves hit .500 as a team, with Cole Hartke leading the way with five kills on 10 attempts, while Ryan Barnett was keeping pace with four kills hitting .571. Four and a half blocks, including a solo block from Noe Matthey, jarred Loyola Chicago as their offense was out of rhythm the entirety of the first set. Pepperdine handedly took set one 25-15.
 
As the home team found their groove, the Waves recorded the most errors through the three sets in the second. Three service aces, including two from Andrej Polomac, aided Pepperdine's momentum as the combined efforts of Hartke and Barnett gave the Waves 10 of the 15 total kills in the set. After the set was tied at 11-all, the Waves pulled away with Barnett behind the service line to keep the Ramblers at bay the remainder of the set, taking it 25-20.
 
The third and final set of the match was back-and-forth for its entirety. The Waves played from behind for a majority of the set, starting at 1-4, coming back to tie it 4-all before the Ramblers took the lead back. Tying again seven different times throughout the set, Loyola Chicago went on a mini-run to take a 23-20 lead in attempts to steal a set from the Waves. Two straight errors by the home team gave Polomac the ball behind the service line to tie the set up with a clutch ace, one of five the junior had on the night.
 
Going point-for-point into extras, Matthey got a hand in a block to give himself the chance to serve, icing out the game with a Rambler error and one final kill from Polomac to secure the sweep with a 30-28 set win.
 
PEPPERDINE VS. LOYOLA CHICAGO
 
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set      K         E         TA       Pct 
1         14      0         28       .500
2         15       7         32       .250
3         15      5         34       .294
 
LOYOLA CHICAGO ATTACK BY SET
Set      K         E         TA       Pct 
1         10       8         31       .065
2         10       4         31       .194
3         20      6         42       .333
 
"We have a quick turnaround now where we have to move on to play tomorrow night against a really good team on the road again," Winder said. "So another great opportunity for us to move on and be present, carrying on what we did tonight."
 
The Waves head out to No. 9 Lewis University to face the second top-10 opponent in two days tomorrow afternoon. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. with streaming available on Youtube and live stats available at www.pepperdinewaves.com
 
GAME NOTES
• Leading the team in kills, Cole Hartke had 17 on a .364 hitting percentage.
• Ryan Barnett had the highest attacking percentage on the afternoon at .400 with 12 kills.
• Andrej Polomac led the Waves for the fourth straight match in assists with 39 and no errors.
• Polomac also led the team in aces, serving five of the team's eight.
• Zach Chapin had an ace tonight, the second of his collegiate career.
• Grant Lamoureux recorded 10 digs, the most by a Wave tonight.
• Noe Matthey had a team-leading three blocks, including a solo stuff.
 
ABOUT PEPPERDINE MEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Pepperdine men's volleyball boasts one of the richest histories in collegiate volleyball, with five NCAA National Championships. Four of those championships came under the direction of Hall of Fame coach Marv Dunphy who totaled 612 victories in 34 seasons at the helm. With 19 NCAA Appearances and 63 All-Americans, the program has consistently been a destination for top talent across the country. Under current head coach Jonathan Winder, the Waves reached the NCAA Final Four in his third season at the helm in 2025.
 
TICKETS
For more information and to purchase tickets to upcoming home events, visit here.
 
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine men's volleyball news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineMVB_ .