Pepperdine Men’s Volleyball started the semester with a 3-0 win against Missouri Science & Technology at Firestone Fieldhouse on Jan. 13.
The Waves came out with energy and excitement as they have been waiting to play their first game all weekend.
“We’ve had great resilience, and it feels really comfortable to be back in the gym,” Head Coach Jonathan Winder said.
The Waves won the first set 25-12 and kept the same energy to win the next two.
“I thought it was good we were all super excited to play given the circumstances,” junior libero Jacob Reilly said.
Winder has kept hold of his team despite the circumstances Pepperdine and the entirety of Malibu are facing as a result of the Palisades Fire.
It was Reilly’s first game as a Wave as he transferred from Concordia Irvine and he began his season with 10 digs and a kill for his team, according to the box score.
Although the second set was closer in score, 25-19, the Waves reset their minds to still come out on top.
“The second game was a little shakier but we just looked at each other and knew what to do and clean things up,” Reilly said.
Once the Waves found their rhythm at the end of the second set, they carried over to a double-digit win, ending the match 25-7.
“In the beginning, there was excitement and it gave them a lot of confidence,” Winder said.
In their first game of the season, the Waves had 43 kills for a .472 hitting efficiency, 8 aces and 14 blocks, according to the box score.
Freshman outside hitter Cole Hartke also had his first win as a Wave with 7 kills for a .500 hitting percentage, according to the box score.
“I feel good about how I did, but it really comes from everybody else,” Hartke said. “My setter does everything, and the passers as well do everything you need to result in a win.”
Other team leaders for the night were graduate student setter Gabe Dyer with 19 assists and 8 digs, redshirt junior outside hitter Ryan Barnett with 11 kills and redshirt sophomore middle blocker Ethan Watson with 7 kills, according to the box score.
During the past weekend, when two games were cancelled, the Waves practiced to prepare for the upcoming season, but also helped their community.
The Waves partnered with Florence Marine X and Surfer Magazine to supply those affected by the fires in Malibu with basic essentials and food according to Winder. The team loaded up trucks to send from their temporary practice location in Irvine to affected areas before returning to campus on Sunday.
“We obviously can’t control what’s going on, so we really just kept our heads high,” Hartke said.
Men’s Volleyball will play D’Youville University on Jan. 19 at Firestone Fieldhouse.
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Email Megan Harkey: megan.harkey@pepperdine.edu
