MATCH STATS
- #7 UCLA Def. #6 Pepperdine 3-1 (25-17, 17-25, 26-24, 25-17)
- #7 UCLA 16-5 (5-2 MPSF); #6 Pepperdine 10-5 (4-3 MPSF)
- Los Angeles, California (MPSF Match)
- Box score
Los Angeles, California – In a critical match for the MPSF title race, the seventh-ranked UCLA Bruins took down the sixth-ranked Pepperdine Waves in four sets. It was more strong home play for UCLA, who improves to 10-1 at home – where six of their final seven matches will be – versus 6-4 on the road.
While BYU sits atop the league standings, the victory for UCLA keeps them within two of the loss column while dropping Pepperdine three back. The match also could have some at-large implications for the NCAA Tournament as we approach the final stretch.
The Bruins went about their business with a nearly unstoppable offense, as they hit .538 in the first, .429 in the third and .444 in the fourth. The lone exception was a .190 mark in the second, but overall they hit .412 for the match while keeping Pepperdine to a lesser .253 hitting percentage. Other team stats saw UCLA garner the edge in kills (53-43), blocks (7-4) and assists (49-42) while Pepperdine won the battle of aces (5-3) and digs (34-33).
One man that UCLA couldn’t hold down was Pepperdine star David Wieczorek, who led the team with 16 kills and hit .419. The Bruins defense didn’t allow any other Waves to make a huge impact though, as the other players for Pepperdine combined to hit just .176.
For UCLA, Micah Ma’a (41 assists, 11 digs) dished out an attack that saw a trio of players at a baker’s dozen or better in kills including Jake Arnitz (13 kills, .440) and Christian Hessenauer (13 kills, .241, six digs). No one stood out more than Daenan Gyimah though, who logged an incredible 17 kills on 18 swings with one error – good for a .889 clip.
The week isn’t over for either team now, as UCLA plays host to #14 George Mason on Saturday. Pepperdine will also be at home on Saturday, as they will take on #4 Loyola Chicago in Malibu.
Press Releases
The No. 5-ranked UCLA men’s volleyball team used a career-high 17 kills from Daenan Gyimah to deal No. 7 Pepperdine a 3-1 setback in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match played at Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday night. Scores of the contest were 25-17, 17-25, 26-24, 25-17. The Bruin sophomore middle blocker compiled his 17 kills on 18 swings while hitting an incredible .889. The Bruins are now 16-5, 5-2 in MPSF action. Pepperdine falls to 10-5, 4-3. UCLA hit .412 as a team for the night, with only three attack errors combined over the final two sets.
In set one, UCLA moved in front 7-4 after a Dylan Missry kill. Pepperdine closed to 10-8, before the Bruins ran off the next four points with Oliver Martin serving an ace for the final tally in the stretch. The Waves pulled to 16-12 only to see kills by Jake Arnitz and an ace from Gyimah restore order. Gyimah’s fifth kill of the set ended the frame at 25-17. The Bruins hit .538 for the set.
The Waves took early control in set two at 5-8. The Bruins closed to 8-10 after a Wave error, but Pepperdine scored the next two points and went on to pull away to a 12-19 lead. After some late Bruin errors, Pepperdine captured the set 17-25 while outhitting the Bruins .467 to .190.
In set three, Pepperdine once again moved out to a 5-8 advantage. UCLA battled back to even the score at 10-all and that set off a back-and-forth battle to end. Neither team led by more than one point down the stretch. The Bruins moved to set point at 24-23 only to see the Waves fight off danger with a tip kill. Gyimah’s spike put UCLA in front to stay at 25-24. A swing from Arnitz provided the winning point. Both teams hits over .350 in the set.
UCLA found their block in set four. A wall by Missry, Micah Ma’a and Gyimah made it 5-2 Bruins. Christian Hessenauer and Martin teamed up for a block to push the margin to 10-6. UCLA led 15-7 after back-to-back blocks by Gyimah / Arnitz. The Bruins enjoyed a 17-10 advantage after Arnitz tied his season-high with a 13th kill. A Martin / Ma’a block lifted the Bruins into an eight-point lead. Points 24 and 25 in the set came from Gyimah in a 25-17 win. UCLA hit .444 to .111 for the Waves.
The Bruins will host George Mason, the first-place team from the Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion.
WESTWOOD, Calif. – The No. 7 Pepperdine men’s volleyball team fell 3-1 to No. 5 UCLA in Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday night, with the Bruins winning after securing 25-17, 17-25, 26-24 and 25-17 final set scores.
After the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation loss against the Bruins (16-5, 5-2 MPSF), the Waves (10-5, 4-3 MPSF) return home on Saturday against No. 6 Loyola Chicago for a 5 p.m. matchup in Firestone Fieldhouse.
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BIG WAVES |
- David Wieczorek (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy): 16 kills, .419 hitting %, 3 digs, 2 blocks (1 solo)
- Robert Mullahey (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS): 37 assists, 8 digs
- Colby Harriman (Rochester, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit HS): 10 kills, 2 aces, 6 digs
- Alex Harthaller (Innsbruck, Austria/Akademischeg Gymnasium/IPFW): 10 kills, 2 aces, 4 digs
- Max Chamberlain (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs HS): 3 blocks, 1 ace
- Noah Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS): 8 digs
- Michael Wexter (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West HS): 3 kills
WAVES VS. BRUINS Pepperdine led the game with 34 digs to the Bruins 33 and 5-3 with an ace ratio from the service line. UCLA had the upper hand, though, posting 53 kills on a .412 success rate, compared to the Waves 43 on a .253 output. The Bruins added 7.5 blocks to the Waves 5.0 and went 49-42 with sets. UCLA also led in service errors with 23 to Pepperdine’s 18.
PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET Set K-E-TA (Pct)1. 8-4-20 (.200)
2. 9-2-15 (.467)
3. 14-4-28 (.357)
4. 12-8-36 (.111)
TOTAL: 43-18-99 (.253)
UCLA ATTACK BY SET Set K-E-TA (Pct)1. 16-2-26 (.538)
2. 10-6-21 (.190)
3. 14-2-28 (.429)
4. 13-1-27 (.444)
TOTAL: 53-11-102 (.412)
NOTABLES - The Waves have posted two top-five upsets in the past three weeks, with a 3-0 sweep over #2 UCLA and a 3-1 win over #4 UC Irvine.
- David Wieczorek leads the conference in points/set, aces/set and kills/set and is second in hitting percentage.
- Robert Mullahey is second in the conference in assists/set.
PLAY-BY-PLAY The Waves came out strong in the first set, but the Bruins pulled away 14-9. After a 19-12 lead, Pepperdine battled to close the gap marginally, but UCLA had the edge and came away with a 25-17 set win.In the second set, Pepperdine rallied with a vengeance, coming out to a 10-6 lead with the help of an ace from Max Chamberlain and block efforts from Chamberlain and David Wieczorek and Chamberlain and Robert Mullahey. The Waves continued on to an 18-12 lead with an ace from Colby Harriman and finished off the 25-17 set win with a kill from Harriman to tie the match 1-1.
The third set was quite a battle, with tied scores being seen from the 10-10, 15-15 and 20-20 mark late into the set. After a 23-23 tie, the Bruins gained a set-point opportunity, but the Waves fought them off. The advantage was still on their side however and UCLA came away with a 26-24 set win for the 2-1 lead.
In the fourth and final set, the Bruins came out of the starting gate hot, pulling ahead 16-8 before finishing off the set and match 25-17 for the 3-1 MPSF win.
NEXT UP Next, the Waves return home to host No. 6 Loyola Chicago at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Firestone Fieldhouse. Follow the Waves on Facebook and Twitter, @PeppVolleyball, and follow the team on Instagram, @PepperdineWaves. Get all the most recent schedules, results and more on www.PepperdineWaves.com.
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