The Pepperdine men’s volleyball team achieved its second consecutive sweep of the weekend, defeating Daemen in three straight sets on Sunday in Malibu. The Waves now hold a 2-0 record for the season, while Daemen drops to 0-2.
Head coach Jonathan Winder commented on the team’s performance over the weekend: “The two matches this weekend were good,” Winder said. “Both opponents were quality. Both matches we were able to have some really good service runs and stuff a lot of balls, so that is a good sign for [us.].”
In the opening set, Grant Lamoureux led with four kills as Pepperdine pulled ahead early. James Eadie contributed by serving six consecutive times, earning five points for the Waves. The set concluded with an ace from Ryan Barnett, giving Pepperdine a 25-17 win.
The second set mirrored the first in score at 25-17. Ryan Barnett and Cole Hartke each recorded four kills. Despite falling behind 7-3 early in the set, Eadie helped close the gap with four straight serves. Defensive plays from Eadie, assisted by Barnett and Andrej Polomac, secured a lead that Pepperdine maintained through the end of the set.
Pepperdine took control from the start in the third set and did not relinquish it. Barnett stood out with five kills and two aces during a 25-14 victory. Noé Matthey added an ace as Pepperdine built its largest lead before closing out the match.
Statistically, Pepperdine posted attack percentages of .333, .318, and .368 across the three sets, while Daemen was held to .160 or lower in each frame.
Cole Hartke and Ryan Barnett led all players with nine kills each. Overall, Pepperdine hit .338 compared to Daemen’s .031. Barnett had a hitting percentage of .412 and tied Lamoureux for most aces with three each. Andrej Polomac led defensively with eight digs and also tallied 24 assists.
Pepperdine will continue its season-opening home stretch by hosting No. 10 UC Irvine on Friday night at 6 p.m., with streaming available on B1G+ (subscription required) and live stats provided at www.pepperdinewaves.com.
Pepperdine men’s volleyball has won five NCAA National Championships and made 19 NCAA tournament appearances throughout its history. Under head coach Jonathan Winder—who guided them to an NCAA Final Four appearance in his third season—the program continues to attract top talent nationwide.
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