BYU falls 3-2 to Pepperdine in the MPSF Tournament

PROVO, Utah — BYU men’s volleyball fell in a five-set heartbreaker (22-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 14-16) to Pepperdine in the quarterfinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Men's Volleyball Tournament on Wednesday to end the Cougars' tournament run and their season. 

The loss puts the Cougars at an overall record of 8-17 and 3-10 in the MPSF in 2022.

Pepperdine topped BYU offensively in Wednesday's match, hitting 66 kills and a .300 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, the Cougars racked up 58 kills and a .241 clip. Defensively, BYU tallied 16 blocks and Pepperdine had 11.

Senior outside hitter Davide Gardini topped the leaderboard with 22 kills and a .360 hitting percentage in his final match as a Cougar. Pepperdine’s Alex Gettinger followed with 16 kills and a .433 clip.

SET ONE
BYU started the match with a slight lead at 4-2 after an ace by freshman outside hitter Miks Ramanis, a kill by sophomore middle blocker Gavin Julien and two Pepperdine errors. The Waves added a kill before a 4-0 run by the Cougars extended BYU’s lead to 9-4.

A 5-0 run by Pepperdine, including three kills, tied the set at 9-9. The score tied again at 10-10 after a kill by the Waves. This started a kill streak with the next seven points coming from kills. From there, the teams continued to tie until 21-21. Pepperdine managed a 4-0 run to break up the score and reach set-point at 24-21. Gardini snuck in one kill before the Waves took their first set-win at 25-22.

SET TWO
Two errors by the Waves put BYU on the board 2-0. Pepperdine tallied a kill, and a BYU error tied the score at 2-2. This was the first of six ties until a 4-0 run by the Waves created a 11-7 gap. Gardini smashed four kills, but Pepperdine matched his efforts to keep a 15-13 lead.

Two kills by Pepperdine’s Austin Wilmot and four BYU errors allowed the Waves to reach 21-15. Gardini attempted to catch up with two kills, but another two Pepperdine kills and a BYU service error secured the Waves their second set-win at 25-20.

SET THREE
The teams tied three times by 3-3. These points included two kills by freshman outside hitter Luke Benson. A Pepperdine service error set the Cougars off on a 3-0 run, featuring an ace by Benson and a kill by Gardini. This lead diminished due to BYU errors and the teams tied another four times by 10-10.

The Waves put up a 3-0 run, but BYU matched with its own. The tied scores continued until 17-17. The momentum shifted after two Pepperdine errors and an ace by senior opposite hitter Alex Ah Sue allowed the Cougars to take the lead at 20-19. Kills by sophomore middle blocker Gavin Julien, freshman setter Noa Haine and Benson gave BYU its first set-win at 25-23.

SET FOUR
Pepperdine started the set with a 3-1 lead after an ace by Wilmot and a kill. Two errors allowed BYU to catch up, tying the set at 3-3. The Cougars managed a 5-1 run, including kills by Gardini, Julien and Benson, to take an 8-6 lead. Two Pepperdine kills tied the set again at 8-8.

The score ping-ponged until a 4-0 run by BYU widened the gap to 16-13. This run featured three Pepperdine errors. The Cougars managed to maintain this lead after three Gardini kills and an ace by freshman middle blocker Teon Taylor, taking their second set-win at 25-21 to tie the match and force a fifth set.

SET FIVE
The pattern of tied scores continued with eight ties by 10-10. The teams traded kills and errors until a kill by Pepperdine’s Alex Gettinger allowed the Waves to reach match-point at 14-13. Gardini smashed a kill, until Gettinger tallied another. Ultimately, one final Pepperdine kill gave the Waves their third-set win and the match victory at 16-14.

Pepperdine and other MPSF winning teams advance to the semifinals on Thursday, April 21. The championship match will take place on Saturday, April 23.