Graduate outside hitter Jaylen Jasper goes for a kill in a match against Concordia on April 8, at Firestone Fieldhouse. Jasper had 20 kills in the match. Photos by Lydia duPerier
No. 8 Pepperdine Men’s Volleyball beat the Concordia Eagles in a three-set sweep April 8, at Firestone Fieldhouse. The Waves are now 16-11 on the season with two games left to play.
The Waves started the match slow as they fell to a 21-15 deficit in the first set, but they were able to come back and win the set and, eventually, the match. Graduate outsider hitter Jaylen Jasper led the way on offense with 20 kills, redshirt junior opposite hitter Jacob Steele followed with 11 kills and junior middle blocker Anderson Fuller followed him with seven kills.
“I thought [Concordia] played really well, and it’s so neat we played with a high level of play, and we are going to need to do that as we move forward,” Head Coach Jonathan Winder said. “We’re going to need to build some habits, so hopefully as we go into next week, we can keep that going.”
The match started with each team battling point-for-point, but Concordia started to pull away when they went on a 6-1 run and made the score 14-9.
With Concordia having a 21-16, junior setter Bryce Dvorak had two service aces in a row to make the score 21-18. Winder said this moment brought the momentum back to Pepperdine’s side.
“A good leadership thing from Bryce [Dvorak] was that he went back there and served and brought some heat,” Winder said. “He got two aces, and that really turned the tide. That was the turning point in the match.”
The Waves continued to narrow their deficit until the score was tied 22-22. From there, both teams again went point-for-point. This was until Concordia committed an attack error and redshirt sophomore Joe Deluzio had a kill to make the score 27-25 and win the first set for the Waves.
Jasper said a couple of adjustments the team made during the first set were communicating efficiently and making smart decisions with where to stand and what to do with the ball. These adjustments and coming back to win the first set helped give them momentum for the rest of the match, Jasper said.
“Being good technically, being in good spots at the net and on defense and keeping the play going for sure set the tone for the rest of the match,” Jasper said.
The second set also started off close with a 9-9 score, but the Waves went on a 10-4 to give them a 19-13 lead. Pepperdine went on to win the second set 25-18.
In the third set, Concordia kept it close, but the Waves managed to hold the lead for the entirety of the set. With Pepperdine having a 24-22 lead, Fuller had a kill to win the set and secure the sweep for the Waves.
Dvorak said one adjustment they made after their slow start that made a big difference in the match was the Waves started to serve the ball better.
“We had a lot misserves, not putting much pressure on the other team, so they were able to do well when we did give them any serves that were in,” Dvorak said. “We just turned up the service pressure and were able to win.”
Pepperdine played Concordia on April 6, but lost the match 3-1. Winder said the team performed better on offense than in their previous match, which helped them bounce back.
“Mostly, it was just how we wanted to respond on our side,” Winder said. “You saw that with the offense; we were more dialed in there.”
This match was also senior night for the Waves as they honored Jasper and Steele. Winder said he’s grateful to have been able to coach Jasper because of who he is on and off the court.
“He’s fun to watch; he’s fun to coach; he’s an absolute pleasure to be around,” Winder said. “We’ll miss him a ton next year and not just from the kills. His personality, his presence, is really joyful.”
As for Steele, Jasper said he loves the passion that Steele has on the court.
“[Steele] is one the most energetic, most intense players I’ve ever played with,” Jasper said. “When he goes up, there’s so much power and aggression in his swings.”
The Waves’ final two games of the season will both be played against UCLA on April 13, at Firestone and April 15, at the Pauley Pavilion. Jasper said, if the team plays up to their potential, they will be able to put up a strong fight against the Bruins.
“Let our amazing athletes like Akin [Akinwumi], [Jacob] Steele, Andy [Fuller] just do their things and put balls away,” Jasper said. “Let Bryce [Dvorak] run the offense and just play our game. We’ll play two really good matches next week.”
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Contact Tony Gleason via email: anthony.gleason@pepperdine.edu
