Pepperdine Men’s Volleyball lost to the University of California, Irvine Anteaters 3-1 on Jan. 16 at Firestone Fieldhouse.
The Waves entered the match with a 2-0 record, ranked No. 3 while the Anteaters entered the match ranked No. 7, according to the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
“We learned a lot from this match,” Head Coach Jonathan Winder said. “Hopefully the guys will have a better understanding moving into the next weekend.”
The match started strong offensively, with both teams exchanging kills before Pepperdine scored a crucial ace that gave them a 9-7 lead.
“We prepared just for this, these are things that we all talked about during film,” senior libero Jacob Reilly said. “We knew their tendencies.”
The Anteaters managed to close the gap after the Waves committed a block error, tying the game at 16. Sophomore outside hitter Cole Hartke pressured UC Irvine offensively, tallying two quick kills to keep the match tied at 21.
The Anteaters managed to pull away after two back-to-back kills, giving them a 24-22 lead and closing out the set 25-22 with senior opposite hitter William D’Arcy’s third kill in a row.
“We’re pretty aggressive on offense,” Winder said. “But we have to keep developing on as a group in all areas.”
Pepperdine came out hot in the second set, taking an early 13-5 lead, forcing a UC Irvine timeout. The Waves kept the momentum going out of the timeout, maintaining their eight point lead, 18-10.
The Anteaters managed to build momentum late in the set thanks to a service ace and pressured the Waves heavily on offense, bringing the score to 22-20 and closing Pepperdine’s lead to only two points.
UC Irvine tied the game at 24 after a Pepperdine service error and closed out the set with two kills, winning the set 26-24 and taking a 2-0 lead.
“We’re a new team, with a lot of young players,” Winder said. “We got to be able to make plays to win and we did some really good things, but we didn’t make the little plays we needed to win the match.”
Entering the third set, the Waves kept a lead early on, going up 11-8 after a net violation call was overturned. Pepperdine capitalized on their momentum, expanding their lead to six and going up 19-13.
UC Irvine could not close the gap this set, going down 23-19 before two service errors gave the Waves their first set of the night.
“Getting the experience now is really big in the beginning of the season,” Reilly said. “Just telling the team to remain calm and that we’ve been training the entire semester for this.”
The fourth set stayed close, with both teams exchanging points before UC Irvine succeeded on three attacks in a row, giving them an 11-8 lead at the halfway point of the set.
The Waves responded with offensive pressure of their own, but were unable to cut down the lead before a rally from the Anteaters gave them a 17-13 lead, forcing a Waves timeout.
“We have to keep developing as a group in situations like these,” Winder said. “So I think the more we’re challenged, it’s going to teach us where we need to get better and I think tonight was helpful for us.”
The rest of the set swung in favor of the Anteaters, as they would close out the set 25-20, taking the match 3-1 and winning their fifth matchup in a row against the Waves, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
“This is a good learning opportunity,” Reilly said. “We have a lot of room to grow, and we talked about things that we didn’t execute exactly like we wanted to.”
Pepperdine ended the match with 49 kills, 48 assists, five service aces and 26 digs, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Senior outside hitter Ryan Barnett led the Waves with 15 kills, followed by freshman outside hitter Grant Lamoureux with 14 and Hartke with 13. Hartke also led Pepperdine with two service aces, while Reilly led the team with seven digs.
The Waves next match is against Loyola University Chicago on Jan. 23 at Gentile Arena.
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Email Shane Stephens: shane.stephens@pepperdine.edu