Match Stats
- 9 Pepperdine def. No. 8 Stanford 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 25-13)
- Pepperdine moves to 8-9 (6-8 MPSF); Stanford falls to 11-10 (6-8 MPSF)
- Palo Alto, Calif.
- Attendance: 500
- Box Score
In a battle of two Top 10 teams, No. 9 Pepperdine men’s volleyball edged out No. 8 Stanford 3-1 on Saturday in Palo Alto, Calif. The Waves won 25-23, 25-19, 20-25 and 25-13 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matchup. Pepperdine outblocked their counterparts 15.5 to eight and also were more efficient offensively, hitting at a .300 clip, while holding the Cardinal to a paltry .128 effort.
The Waves (8-9, 6-8 MPSF) were led by sophomore outside hitter Michael Wexter and redshirt-sophomore outside David Wieczorek, who turned in 15 kills apiece. Wexter rounded out his first career double-double, adding 12 digs to his team-leading kill tally and .429 hitting effort. Wieczorek chipped in seven blocks, while hitting at a .367 clip. Freshman outside Noah Dyer also reached double digits, tacking on 11 kills on a .348 effort. Junior opposite Clay Carr paced the Pepperdine defensive effort with eight stuffs.
Redshirt senior outside hitter Gabriel Vega managed a match-high 16 kills, but hit just .154. Redshirt junior middle blocker Kevin Rakestraw added 10 kills and hit at a .240 clip, but it was not enough for the Cardinal (11-10, 6-8 MPSF). Junior libero Evan Enriques managed 12 digs and freshman middle Jacob Thoenen added a team-best four blocks to lead Stanford defensively.
Pepperdine stole away the first set after falling behind 9-5 early and trailing 23-21 late in a 25-23 win. A pair of kills by Wexter and a stuff by Wieczorek and Carr knotted the score, before another kill and a Stanford error sealed the comeback.
The Waves used an 8-3 run to pull away early in Set 2 and held off a late Stanford rally for the 25-19 win. The Cardinal cut the margin to one at 20-19, but kills by Wexter and Dyer and a pair of triple blocks capped the stanza.
Stanford outhit Pepperdine .359 to .259 in a 25-20 Set 3 win to extend the match. The teams were tied at 17, before the Cardinal finished off the set.
Pepperdine won Set 4 going away with help from a handful of kills and a pair of aces by Wexter, which put the Waves up 20-9. A stuff by Weiczorek and Carr set up a pair of kills by the duo to wrap up the win and hand Stanford its fifth consecutive MPSF loss.
Stanford has lost five consecutive MPSF matches and six of its past seven after a 5-2 start. But the Cardinal will attempt to reverse its fortunes Friday and Saturday against UC Irvine and UC San Diego, respectively, at Maples Pavilion.
Press Releases
Courtesy: Pepperdine Athletics
The 9th-ranked Pepperdine men’s volleyball team commanded the court at Burnham Pavilion this Saturday night, defeating 8th-ranked Mountain Pacific Sports Federation competitors Stanford 3-1 with 25-23, 25-19, 20-25 and 25-13 final set scores.
The Waves (8-9, 6-8 MPSF) out-blocked the Cardinal (11-10, 6-8 MPSF) with 15.5 team blocks to Stanford’s 8.0, allowing the opposition only a .128 hitting percentage on the night. Pepperdine was also solid on the attack effort with a .301 success rate after posting 47 kills and only 16 errors on 103 swings.
Sophomore Michael Wexter (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) and redshirt-sophomore David Wieczorek (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) led the team with 15 kills apiece. Wexter garnered his first career double-double with a career-best 12 digs along with his kill output. He posted a .429 hitting percentage with 28 swings and added four blocks and two aces for the Waves. Wieczorek finished the night with a .367 success rate on his 30 swings, while producing seven blocks and six digs in an all-around effort.
Junior Clay Carr (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) led the squad with eight blocks and freshman Noah Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS) tabbed 11 kills on a .348 attack output as well as seven digs and two blocks.
Senior Joshua Stewart (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine College Prep/Pacific) led Pepperdine with 41 assists and added four blocks, including one solo rejection, three digs, two kills and an ace. Junior Weston Barnes (Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach HS) picked up eight digs and senior Mitchell Penning (St. Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian HS) produced four blocks as well.
Stanford began the night with a 9-5 advantage early, but Pepperdine quickly closed the gap after a strong service effort from Wexter and a big solo block by Dyer to make it a 10-10 set. The opposition then picked up another lead 14-11, with the Waves working point-for-point to always stay within striking distance. The Cardinal had a 23-21 lead late in the set, but back-to-back smashes by Wexter and a block collaboration from Wieczorek and Carr tied the set. Pepperdine continued with the momentum and a final kill from Wieczorek and a forced Stanford attack error earned the Waves a 25-23 set win.
With the advantage heading into the second set, the Waves were fueled up after an early 6-6 tie and broke away with an 8-3 run to lengthen the gap. The Cardinal brought the deficit within two at the 18-16 mark, but Pepperdine continued to hold the lead throughout the remainder of the set. After a 20-19 lead late in the set, the Waves used the energy to propel forward with kills from Wexter and Dyer. The team sealed the second set win with near back-to-back triple-blocks from Wieczorek, Penning and Stewart, 25-19.
The third set was close throughout, but the home court advantage aided Stanford. After a 17-17 tie, the Cardinal worked forward en route to a 25-20 win to make it a 2-1 match.
Pepperdine absolutely commanded the fourth and final set. After bursting out to an 11-6 lead early with the help of Carr, Wexter and Carr, Wieczorek blocks and a four smashes from Wexter. The Waves continued to post several quick uncontested runs and back-to-back aces from Wexter put the team’s advantage at 20-9 late in the match. To win the match, Wieczorek and Carr collaborated on another block effort and then followed it up with a kill apiece to win the set 25-13 and the match 3-1.
Next up for the Waves will be UC Irvine on March 25 at 7 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse. Follow Pepperdine @PeppVolleyball on Twitter and Facebook for immediate updates and head to PepperdineWaves.com for recaps, results and more.
Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
Gabriel Vega had 16 kills, but couldn’t prevent Stanford from a 25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 25-13 men’s volleyball loss to Pepperdine at Burnham Pavilion on Saturday.
No. 8 Stanford (11-10 overall) dropped into an eighth-place tie with Pepperdine at 6-8 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Only the top eight teams advance to the conference tournament and play for NCAA qualification. Stanford and Pepperdine (8-9) each have four matches left in the regular season.
The first set was pivotal Saturday. Stanford never trailed until Pepperdine took a 24-23 lead on the way to a 4-0 run to close the set. Vega had five kills in the set, but Stanford hit .000 and was forced to play from behind the rest of the match.
Stanford hit .128 in the match, but other than a .389 hitting percentage in the victorious third set, the Cardinal hit .031.
Paul Bischoff had 35 assists for Stanford and Evan Enriques had 12 digs. In addition, Kevin Rakestraw had 10 kills and four blocks, including one solo.
Stanford has lost five consecutive MPSF matches and six of its past seven after a 5-2 start. But the Cardinal will attempt to reverse its fortunes Friday and Saturday against UC Irvine and UC San Diego, respectively, at Maples Pavilion.
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