Malibu, California — The #10 Pepperdine men's volleyball team heads out on the road this week, but it won't go as far as the Waves head to #16 CSUN and Concordia Irvine.
Match #16 — Wednesday (February 28) Premier America Credit Union Arena in Northridge, California: #10 Pepperdine (10-5) vs. #16 CSUN (8-6) 6 p.m. | ESPN+
Match #17 — Saturday (March 2) CU Arena in Irvine, CA: #10 Pepperdine (10-5) vs. Concordia Irvine (RV) (5-5) 7:00 PM | Team1 Sports
Reporting — This week's games will be streamed with live stats available, and Wednesday's matchup will be streamed on ESPN+. All home games will be streamed on ESPN+ and live scores will be available. Links can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.
next – Next week, the Waves head east to take on Belmont Abbey College and North Greenville on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
to follow – Follow the Waves on Facebook and X (@PeppVolleyball) and the team on Instagram and TikTok (@peppmvb). For the latest schedule, results and more, visit www.PepperdineWaves.com.
last week – Pepperdine split the week last week, first upsetting then-No. 6 Stanford 3-1, then succumbing to the same fate the next day. With Friday's win, the Waves fought back from a 25-15 first set deficit to win the second set 25-21. The team won the next two games 25-17 and 25-18. The Waves had 45 kills at a .392 clip, while allowing 53 kills to opponents at a .306 clip. Pepperdine led 10-4 in aces and 9.0-2.0 in blocks, while Stanford led 41-31 in digs. ryan burnett and Cole Ketrzynski They each led with 12 kills. Burnett didn't make a single error in 18 swings, tying a career-high .667 success percentage in the process. Ketocinski accomplished this with a .478 batting average, tying the team's best three aces. brendan reed. ethan watson He led with seven blocks, including three solo rejections, but trey cole Leading the way with 9 excavations, Ryan Graves Added 30 assists.
In the next match on Saturday, Pepperdine took the first set 25-21, but Stanford fought back to tie the score 25-23. The Cardinal narrowly won 25-22, 25-23 to split the week. The Waves led the way with a season-high 59 kills and a .276 success rate, while the Cardinal had a strong showing with 49 kills and a .292 success rate. Each side of the net produced his 12.0 blocks, with the home team leading 42-33 on digs, while the opposing team had aces and he led 3-1. Barnett had a career-best 20 kills (reaching the mark for the first time this season) and did it while batting .389. Ketrzynski added 10 more kills, kohl lasik She achieved her first career double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs. Graves led the way with 30 assists and Cole with 13.
MPSF Weekly Nodo — red shirt sophomore ryan burnett He led the Waves to an upset victory over #6 Stanford and posted career numbers in both games against the Cardinal last week, earning him his first career MPSF Offensive Player of the Week award this week. This honor is a first for Pepperdine this season.
He racked up 12 kills on 18 error-free swings, tying his career-best batting average of .667. This is tied for the team's best record this season (over 10 kills), and is a record he himself set earlier this year. He maintained his career numbers in the next game against the Cardinal, leading the Waves with a career-high 20 kills on a high success percentage of .389. Also, in Game 2, he had 20 service attempts and only had two errors. Overall, Barnett had 32 kills on a .481 performance and added 12 digs, four blocks, and an ace for a total of 35.0 points. He averaged 4.00 kills and 4.38 points per set.
Squad — The Waves started the season with a 10-5 record, winning seven of those games in straight sets. The team started the first two weeks of MPSF action at 1-3 with a win over #6 Stanford. As a team, Pepperdine recorded 12.22 kills at a .317 clip and added 11.55 assists, 1.41 aces, 8.80 digs, and 2.48 blocks. The team is averaging just 10.37 kills on a .205 output, with 1.14 aces, 7.86 digs, and 1.96 blocks.
Cole Ketrzynski He leads the Waves in offensive output with 3.39 kills per set and 149 total kills. ryan burnett He also showed a solid presence offensively, recording 2.37 kills/set and 97 kills, and recorded the highest batting average (.371) among players who made over 100 attacks this season.
ethan watson and martin de chavarria They led the team in net with 1.62 and 1.24 blocks per set, respectively. De Chavarria produced 56 blocks on 8 solo rejections out of 45 sets, while Watson amassed 42 blocks on 9 solo jobs out of 26 set plays. Ketocinski leads the team with 13 aces and 0.30 aces/set so far this season. kohl lasik He has reached double-digit ace territory with 10 hits so far this season (0.23).
trey cole He had a team-high 2.13 digs/set and had 102 digs this season. tyler stewart and Ryan Graves He spent the most time on playmaking duties, averaging 8.26 and 5.90 assists per set, respectively.
Opponent – CSUN is ranked 16th in this week's AVCA national poll and is 8-6 so far this season. The Matadors' most notable wins were four-set and five-set wins, respectively, over then-ranked No. 4 Stanford and No. 11 USC. Last week, CSUN lost in 5 to #15 Lewis at Northridge. Pepperdine holds an overall record of 65-21 against CSUN, dating back to the 1978 season when the Waves won in straight sets, and then a 14-game winning streak that ended in 1988. Pepperdine has been doing well in recent years since 2013. The Waves last lost to the Matadors in 2013, the first of two games, and are on a 12-game winning streak.
Concordia Irvine is even with 5 wins and 5 losses so far this season. Last week, the Eagles lost twice to No. 5 UC Irvine, both in straight sets. Pepperdine has amassed an 11-1 record against CUI and lost in four sets on the road for the first time last season against the Eagles. The two teams first met in 2016, with the Waves winning 3-0 and going on a 10-game winning streak. The two teams met last year as well, with Pepperdine defeating Concordia Irvine in straight sets in Malibu.
Ranking — Pepperdine is ranked No. 10 in this week's AVCA national poll. After staying in 10th place for three consecutive weeks, the team dropped to 12th place, but two wins over UCSB and an upset over No. 6 Stanford moved the Waves back up to 10th place. The Waves started the season in 13th place.
In addition to team rankings, the Waves have also received considerable attention in team and individual statistical rankings this early in the season. The Waves rank second in the MPSF in opponent batting average (.205) and team offense (26.10) and third in kills (12.22), digs (8.80), blocks (2.48) and assists (11.55). The team also ranks in the top 13 nationally in seven categories, including 7th in blocks, 10th in opponent batting average, and 11th in digs and batting average (.317).
martin de chavarria Ranked 2nd in MPSF and 4th nationally with 1.24 blocks. trey cole He also leads the league and ranks 12th nationally with 2.12 digs. Cole Ketrzynski He ranked nationally in five categories, including 25th place with 4.03 points and 3.39 kills. He leads the league in offensive power (7.50), but ryan burnett He leads the MPSF and ranks 12th nationally in batting average (.371).
