The Pepperdine men’s volleyball team, ranked third in the latest AVCA national poll, experienced its first loss of the season against seventh-ranked UC Irvine. The match, held in Malibu, ended with a 1-3 result in favor of the Anteaters.
“We learned a lot from this game,” said head coach Jonathan Winder. “UCI is a deep and talented team. We need to learn how to make the plays to win as a team and know it doesn’t have to be perfect or feel great.”
Despite outperforming UC Irvine in hitting percentage over four sets (.406 compared to .376), Pepperdine was unable to secure the win. The opening set featured 16 ties, with Ryan Barnett leading Pepperdine with six kills and an ace. UC Irvine took the first set 25-23.
In the second set, Pepperdine built an early lead at 13-5 but saw it narrow after a series of points by UC Irvine, including consecutive aces. The Anteaters ultimately won the second set 26-24.
Pepperdine responded in the third set with efficient play, led by Barnett’s four kills and Grant Lamoureux’s three. The Waves claimed the third set 25-22.
The fourth set included eight ties but was marked by eleven errors from Pepperdine. Playing from behind late in the set, they lost 20-25 as UC Irvine secured the match.
Ryan Barnett finished with a team-high 15 kills and hit .522 for the match. Grant Lamoureux also recorded a .522 hitting percentage with 14 kills. Andrej Polomac contributed 43 assists for his third straight match leading that category while Jacob Reilly posted seven digs—the most for any player in this contest. Noé Matthey led Pepperdine with five blocks, and Cole Harke added two aces and topped the team in points created with 17.
Reflecting on upcoming challenges, Winder said: “We have two really tough road matches next week,” adding: “So we’ve got to be hungry to learn and improve as we keep going.”
Pepperdine will travel east for their first away games of the season, facing No. 6 Loyola Chicago Ramblers on Friday—a rematch of last year’s NCAA Quarterfinals—followed by a game against No. 9 Lewis University on Saturday.
The program has one of collegiate volleyball’s most successful histories, winning five NCAA National Championships—four under Hall of Fame coach Marv Dunphy—and producing numerous All-Americans across its history. Under current head coach Jonathan Winder, Pepperdine reached the NCAA Final Four in his third season at the helm in 2025.
For more information about tickets or updates on Pepperdine men’s volleyball events and news, visit www.pepperdinewaves.com or follow @PepperdineMVB_ on social media.
“We learned a lot from this game,” head coach Jonathan Winder said. “UCI is a deep and talented team. We need to learn how to make the plays to win as a team and know it doesn’t have to be perfect or feel great.”
“We have two really tough road matches next week,” Winder said. “So we’ve got to be hungry to learn and improve as we keep going.”
