Waves dominate Missouri S&T, D’Youville, and Emmanuel after delayed start, showcasing stellar offense and defense
The Pepperdine men’s volleyball team nabbed three consecutive victories, all by 3-0 sweeps, after the Palisades Fire delayed the start to their 2025 campaign two weeks ago.
The Waves downed visiting Missouri S&T Miners on Jan. 13 and then knocked off the D’Youville Saints six days later,and the Emmanuel Lions on Monday, Jan. 20. All the victories were claimed on the court inside Pepperdine’s Firestone Fieldhouse.
Pepperdine had matches against Merrimack College and Fairleigh Dickinson University canceled because of the Palisades blaze.
The Waves beat Missouri S&T by the scores of 25-12, 25-19, and 25-7. Outside hitter Ryan Barnett, a redshirt junior, had 11 kills and three service aces for Pepperdine, while freshman outside hitter Cole Hartke posted seven kills, six digs, three blocks, two assets, and one service ace. Graduate student Gabe Dyer, a setter, had 19 assists, four kills, and one ace; redshirt sophomore middle blocker James Eaddie had six kills, two blocks, and one assist; and Ethan Watson, also a redshirt sophomore middle blocker, shared four blocks and hit seven kills.
The Waves jumped out to a 6-2 advantage in the match which quickly ballooned to a 20-10 lead when Watson and opposite Matt Mazur, a redshirt freshman, denied a Missouri S&T scoring attempt. Eadie ended the first set with a kill.
The Waves’ took an earlier lead in the second set. Watson and Harke denied the Miners above the net and Barnett had two kills and an ace. However, the Miners kept the match close. Watson’s kill put the Waves up 24-19 and then Dyer scored to clinch the set for his team.
The third set was a dominant one for the home team. Harke and sophomore outside hitter Illay Haver had consecutive blocks and Haver’s scoring swing of his arm gave Pepperdine a 12-2 advantage. The Waves led 19-5 at one point. Of course, the lead was increased when Watson’s ace made the score 24-5. Pepperdine’s winning point came courtesy of a Miners’ attack error.
Missouri S&T had only a .087 hitting percentage in the set. In the first set, the Waves defense held their opponents to a .000 hitting percentage and only six kills.
On Jan. 19, the Waves downed D’Youville 25-11, 25-5, and 25-13. Six Pepperdine players had a hitting percentage above .500, while the team’s average was .691. The squad also had 15 aces throughout the sweep.
Barnett had 16 kills and three aces; Hartke had a Pepperdine record-setting .917 hitting percentage with 11 kills. He also had five aces, four blocks, and three digs. Sophomore setter Ryan Graves dished out 29 assists with two digs and two service aces.
The Waves grabbed a four-point lead in the first set that featured back-and-forth action. The Waves won the set on the hitting of Hartke, who had five kills and three service aces and Barnett, the owner of three kills and two service aces.
In the second set, Eadie went three-for-three on attack and assisted on two blocks. Barnett posted four kills, an ace, and a block. The Waves’ defense held the Saints in check for the 20-point win.
Barnett led the way in the last set with nine kills. Hartke also had five kills with a .833 hitting percentage. He also had two aces. The top defender was Jacob Reilly, who had four digs and two assists. The Waves won the match by 12 points.
D’Youville was held to a .019 hitting percentage and 13 kills by the Waves through the three sets.
The Waves won its most recent match, against Emmanuel, by the scores of 25-11, 25-17, and 25-17. Mazur led Pepperdine with 14 kills on a .500 hitting percentage, while freshman outside hitter Jose Gomez had 13 kills and 5 aces.
The Waves host Long Beach State on Sunday at 5 p.m. and Loyola Chicago on Jan. 30 at 7 p.m.
Pepperdine finished last season with a 17-11 record.