MALIBU, Calif. – The No.6 Pepperdine men's volleyball team (12-4, 3-0 MPSF) beat Penn State (11-6, 4-0 EIVA) in three identical 25-16 scores in the 3-1 match win Wednesday night.
"The serving on our end, I thought, was really strong. And the passing was solid as well," head coach
Jonathan Winder said. "It wasn't perfect, but we were good over the whole course of the match. The guys responded well after a busy week last week."
Jumping in front early, the Waves doubled the Nittany Lions score off the bat in the first set at 10-5 behind a pair of service aces from
Andrej Polomac and
Ryan Barnett as well as kills from four different Waves.
Jose Gomez notched two service aces of his own through the opening set, leading Pepperdine in kills with four, sharing the top spot with Barnett, who notched zero errors to hit .800 in the opening set. Nine errors on the Pepperdine side of the net gave Penn State the majority of their points as the Waves took the first 25-16.
The defense came to life in the second set, with 4.5 blocks down the stretch.
Cole Hartke had solo stuff, leading the Waves in kills with four. Hartke also went on a run behind the service line, drilling three aces in a four-point stretch early. Penn State stuck around longer in the second, before a
Zach Chapin sub triggered a 5-1 Waves run. After a brief Nittany Lion timeout, two back-to-back serving errors on the visitor side gave
James Eadie the ball to close the set out 25-16 with the help of a triple block off the hands of Hartke, Will Whidden, and Barnett.
Refusing to be swept, Penn State rallied back in the third, hitting .500 with four service aces. There were seven ties and three lead changes as the Waves refused to go away, but the Nittany Lions pulled out the 25-22 win in the third to force a fourth.
Back to business in the fourth set, Gomez accounted for half the squad's eight kills with four. Hartke dished another two service aces as Pepperdine got a boost from Penn State errors. Hitting .294 to close out the match, a total of 17 Nittany Lion errors spread between receiving, attacking, and serving, gave the Waves the fourth and final set of the night 25-16.
PEPPERDINE VS. PENN STATE
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set K E TA Pct
1 15 2 23 .565
2 13 3 26 .385
3 11 3 23 .348
4 8 3 17 .294
PENN STATE ATTACK BY SET
Set K E TA Pct
1 7 2 20 .250
2 9 6 23 .130
3 12 2 20 .500
4 6 9 23 -.130
Restarting conference play this weekend, the Waves head north to Atherton, Calif. to take on Menlo College. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m., the match will be available to stream on B1G+ (subscription required) with live stats available at
www.pepperdinewaves.com
GAME NOTES
•
Ryan Barnett was the most efficient Wave tonight, hitting .476.
•
Cole Hartke notched the most kills with 15.
• Hartke also led the team in aces, serving up five.
• As a team, Pepperdine almost doubled Penn State's aces 13-7.
•
Jacob Reilly led the Waves in digs with six, converting one into a kill.
•
James Eadie and Will Whidden split the top-spot in blocks with four, Eadie recording one of two solo stuffs on the night.
•
Andrej Polomac had a hand in 39 of the team's 46 assists tonight.
• The Waves outhit the Nittany Lions .404 to .174.
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.
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