In Thursday night MPSF action, #6 BYU overcame a strong start from #7 Pepperdine to win in five, while #3 UCLA used a strong start of their own to down #20 Stanford in four sets.
#6 BYU def. #7 Pepperdine, 3-2 (22-25, 27-29, 25-23, 25-22, 15-11)
- BYU improves to 13-4, 6-0 MPSF; Pepperdine falls to 9-4, 3-2 MPSF
- Provo, Utah
- BYU recap/Pepperdine recap
- Box score
Key Stats: Although Pepperdine started strong, it was BYU’s efficiency that told the story. BYU outhit Pepperdine by nearly 100 points, .355-.258, including hitting .500 in set four (16-4-24). The Cougars led in a few other categories, including kills (61-55), blocks (15.5-13.5) and digs (33-24), while Pepperdine won the service battle (10-6).
Stat Leaders: Both teams had three double-digit kill performers. For BYU, opposite Gabi Garcia Fernandez led the way with 18 kills, a team-high of 7 digs, another team-high of 3 aces and 3 blocks. Brenden Sander overcame his 6 service errors and 4 reception errors with an impressive 17 kills on .467 hitting. Sander also added 4 blocks and 3 digs. Storm Fa’agata-Tufuga finished with 13 kills on .348 hitting to go along with his 4 blocks, 3 digs and 2 aces in only 4 sets of play. Felipe de Brito Ferreira had a career-high 10 blocks. Setter Leo Durkin posted season-highs of 56 assists, 6 blocks and 3 kills.
For Pepperdine, David Wieczorek, the MPSF leader in points, aces, and kills per set, led the Waves with a match-high 20 kills on .351 hitting. He also had 8 blocks and a match-high 4 aces. Joining him in double-digit country was Colby Harriman with 12 kills, 5 blocks and 2 aces. Alex Harthaller finished with 10 kills. Middle blocker Max Chamberlain had a career-high of 10 blocks. Setter Robert Mullahey narrowly missed a double-double with 47 assists and a match-high of 9 digs.
It Was All Over When: At 10-all in set five, a Storm Fa’agata Tufuga kill gave the Cougars the lead for good. No other kills were produced for the remainder of the match. BYU created their last four points on an unforced Wave hitting error and 3 blocks.
#3 UCLA def. #20 Stanford, 3-1 (25-12, 25-16, 18-25, 25-21)
- UCLA improves to 15-4, 4-1 MPSF; Stanford drops to 3-14, 1-5 MPSF
- Stanford, California
- UCLA recap/Stanford recap
- Box score
Key Stats: Aside from the mild hiccup in set 3, the Bruins had control of this match from the start. UCLA led in kills (44-40), hitting percentage (.319-.244), aces (10-3), and blocks (11.5-2). Even in the final two sets, where Stanford had finally got offensive production (25-2-43, .535), it was the Cardinal’s inability to slow down the Bruin attack. UCLA also produced 4 of their 10 aces in set 4.
Stat Leaders: Christian Hessenauer led the way with a match-high-tying 16 kills on .387 hitting to go along with 6 blocks, 4 digs and 2 aces. Dylan Missry and Daenan Gyimah both finished with 8 kills and .400 hitting or better. Gyimah’s 7 blocks led the match. Setter Micah Ma’a directed the UCLA attack with 30 assists, a match-high of 3 aces and a team-high of 8 digs.
Stanford saw the great majority of their attack come from the arm of Jaylen Jasper with 16 kills. No other Cardinal had half as many kills. Setter Mason Tufuga dished 29 assists and finished with a match-high 9 digs. Tufuga and Kevin Rakestraw both led the Cardinal with 2 blocks each.
It Was All Over When: After trading the first two points of set 4, UCLA went on a huge 10-4 run that kept Stanford at bay for the remainder of the match. In that run, the Bruins had 5 kills and 2 aces.
Leave a Reply