GREG BARNETT
Sports Editor
With the No.-5 Pepperdine men’s volleyball team leading 2-0, it looked as if they were going to sweep visiting USC, but the Trojans stormed back to win the final three games and the match, 3-2 (31-33, 25-30, 30-27, 31-29, 17-15).
USC won for the first time in Malibu since the 1999 season and improved to 13-13 on the year while Pepperdine dropped to 12-9 overall and 11-9 in conference play.
The Waves earned two match points when leading 29-27 in game four, but the Trojans wheeled off four straight points to win the game and the momentum.
Despite the loss, Head Coach Marv Dunpnhy said his team is playing better and is playing their best at the right time of the season.
“We’re playing as well as we have so far this year,” he said. “I thought we played pretty good tonight, just not good enough.”
The Waves were led by junior opposite Paul Carroll, who tallied a match-high 33 kills. Freshman outside hitter Cory Rieks hit .500 with 23 kills, which was one below his career high. Senior setter Jonathan Winder tallied 67 assists and 10 digs for his sixth double-double of the season.
The Waves looked to be in complete control during the first two games, winning game one with a monster block by junior middle blocker Mark Hulse. With the momentum from Hulse’s block, Pepperdine took control of game two early. An ace by Carroll took the game, 30-25.
In game three, the tide changed quickly with the Trojans jumping out to a 6-2 lead. During the game, USC steadily used the quick-set more often and the Waves couldn’t seem to figure out how to defend it. The Waves stayed close, but dropped the game, 30-27.
“We just weren’t able to stop the quick [set],” Winder said. “I don’t know why, we’re still getting better at blocking balls, blocking the middle is a little bit different and hopefully next time around we should be able to touch the quick.”
Game four was close throughout with both teams having the lead in the game. The Waves earned two match points at 29-27, but the Trojans didn’t falter, winning four straight points to force a game five.
In game five, the Waves fell behind 5-2, but roared back to tie 8-8. However, following a USC timeout, the Trojans regained the lead, 12-9, but the Waves tied the game 15-15. Pepperdine couldn’t quite complete the comeback, dropping the next two points, and the match, 17-15.
The Waves finish the regular season this weekend against the University of Hawaii on Friday and Saturday with both matches starting at 7 p.m.
04-10-2008
