Pepperdine Warms Up Just in Time

MALIBU —  Playing a struggling team with a losing record is no excuse for turning in a lackluster performance.

The Pepperdine men’s volleyball team learned that lesson in Thursday night’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match against USC in Firestone Fieldhouse. The eighth-ranked Waves might have taken the 12th-ranked Trojans for granted and it almost cost them the match.

Fortunately, Pepperdine snapped out of it in time to come away with a 14-16, 15-8, 15-9, 17-15 victory. The Waves (11-6, 6-5 in MPSF play) have won five of their last six conference matches and appear to be playoff-bound.

“I don’t think we took them for granted at all,” Pepperdine setter J.J. Riley said. “We knew they were good. I think they just caught us off guard with their jump serve at the beginning.”

USC (5-9, 4-8) scored its first five points in the first game on Pepperdine errors. The Waves rallied to tie and then take a two-point lead. The game was tied four more times before Pepperdine failed to execute down the stretch.

With the game tied, 12-12, Pepperdine’s Peter Kodacsy served for two consecutive points. But USC held off three Pepperdine game points before Eric Seiffert served three points in a row to give USC a 15-14 lead. Chris Guigliano served game point to Pepperdine’s Kevin Barnett, who was called for a lift.

The Waves looked more intense in the second game. They broke a 7-7 tie by closing out the game with an 8-1 run. Riley served for Pepperdine’s last five points.

“This is easy to say afterwards, but I felt we were in control of the match the whole time,” Pepperdine Coach Marv Dunphy said. “I also think [USC] didn’t play as well as they’re capable of playing.”

The third game was close until Pepperdine went on a 5-1 run to win it. USC fought off two Pepperdine game points, but on the third one Barnett greeted a USC service return with a powerful shot down the line.

Pepperdine had a difficult time putting away the fourth game. The Waves broke an 8-8 tie with a 6-1 run, but stalled at 14-9. USC scored six consecutive points, taking a 15-14 lead when Guigliano nailed a cross-court kill off his own serve.

Kodacsy tied it at 15-15 with a shot down the middle with John Bowling serving. Riley served the Waves’ last two points and Barnett, who had a match-high 24 kills, blocked a USC shot on match point.

Freshman George Roumain had 19 kills for Pepperdine and Kodacsy had 17. Gabe Gardner led USC with 21 kills.