Pepperdine snaps three-game skid with a dominant 3-1 win over USC in front of an electric home crowd
The Pepperdine Waves men’s volleyball team, ranked eighth in national polls, recorded its first win over a top-five ranked team this season on April 5, beating the third-ranked USC Trojans 3-1 at Pepperdine’s Firestone Fieldhouse.
Six-foot-eleven freshman Cole Hartke, an outside hitter, led the Waves with 18 kills, two aces, five digs, and five blocks, while redshirt junior Ryan Barnett, an outside hitter also, recorded 16 kills, three aces, 22 serve-receptions, four blocks, and three digs. Junior libero Jacob Reilly had 11 digs, two assists, and 26 receptions for Pepperdine and graduate student Gabe Dyer, a setter, rang up 42 assists, 12 digs, and one block.
Pepperdine won the match 21-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-21.
The Waves’ victory happened two days after USC beat them 3-1 in Los Angeles.
Hartke led the Waves with several kills in the first set and the score was knotted at 17 before USC made a run — and theWaves had some miscues — to claim the set.
Harke and sophomore outside hitter Mazur helped the Waves grab control of the second set after it got off to a competitive start. USC was never out of the game, though. The Waves secured the win after the Trojans committed some errors and redshirt sophomore middle blocker James Eadie’s service ace ended the set.
Harke and Barnett offensively and Mazur on defense led the Waves to a massive third-set win, which was USC’s lowest scoring set of this season. USC struggled throughout the set as Pepperdine gained a 2-1 lead.
Barnett and Harke’s offensive performances again led their team to a lead in the fourth set. USC did battle back, but they couldn’t stymie Pepperdine’s offensive flow. Hartke’s final kill of the matchup stamped the Waves victory.
The area was full of spectators for the match. Some attendees held up supportive Pepperdine signs that read “ALL DAY EADIE,” and “JACOB IS REILLY GOOD!” The match also featured alumni recognition for former Waves assistant coach Gary Sato, who has the same role with USC, and Pepperdine Hall of Famer Linda Murphy, a Waves volleyball player from 1977-79. Waves scholar-athletes who have a 3.0 GPA or higher were also honored.
Pepperdine’s payback win ended a three-game losing streak. The Waves have a 15-7 overall record and 7-3 record in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation heading into their home match against Jessup University on Thursday. Before they dropped three consecutive matches, Pepperdine won four straight contests in mid-March. They beat Stanford and Meno College twice apiece.