GREG BARNETT
Sports Editor
Coming off three straight road losses against Brigham Young University and Cal State Northridge, the No.-5 Pepperdine men’s volleyball team bounced back with a win in its final road match of the season against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday night (30-23, 30-25, 35-33). With the win, the Waves improved to 9-8 in conference play and 9-8 overall.
Head Coach Marv Dunphy said his team increasingly improved after losing the first of two matches at BYU.
“We played better the second night [at BYU], even better at Northridge and then even better at UCSB,” he said. “I’m pleased with what we’re doing, and we’re starting to meet some of the standards that we’ve set as coaches.”
Junior opposite Paul Carroll led the Waves with 19 kills and 5 service aces while freshman outside hitter Cory Rieks added 14 kills. Junior outside hitter J.D. Schleppenbach contributed with 9 kills and 7 digs.
“We got off to a good start in the first two games, then in the third game we had a lull, but came back,” Schleppenbach said. “That was a good sign that when you’re down from the very beginning and can fight off a couple points and come back, it was good news to see that.”
Senior setter Jonathan Winder had 43 assists and 3 service aces while guiding the Waves to a .345 hitting percentage. Freshman middle blocker Tyler Jaynes tallied 5 kills and assisted on 10 of the Waves’ 12 blocks in the match.
“It was nice to have the opportunity to get in there and put an effort toward the team,” Jaynes said. “I played a couple matches early but then sat out, I started to work a little harder and got in there.”
Pepperdine jumped out to a 3-0 lead in game one and maintained the advantage throughout the first game. The Waves led 12-10 before scoring four straight points to take command. The Gauchos never got closer than four points the rest of the game.
In game two, the Waves fell behind 7-2, but Winder cut the lead to 9-8 with two service aces. Jaynes tied the score, 11-11, with a kill and two straight blocks. Pepperdine took the lead, 14-13, on Carroll’s service ace and never looked back. A Carroll kill ended the game, 30-25.
The Gauchos desperately tried pushing the match to a fourth game by taking a 10-5 lead in game three. The Waves came within one point on multiple occasions but the Gauchos wouldn’t falter, earning two game points at 29-27. However, Pepperdine scored three straight points to take the lead, 30-29. The teams exchanged points until the score was tied, 33-33, and back-to-back kills by Carroll and Schleppenbach sealed the win, 35-33.
The Waves end the regular season with six consecutive home matches, starting with a non-conference battle against California Baptist on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Firestone Fieldhouse.
“We’re looking to win out our regular season to gain a little momentum going into our playoffs,” Carroll said.
03-20-2008