#9 Pepperdine begins its postseason push against #7 GCU in the MPSF Tournament

MALIBU, California #9 The Pepperdine men’s volleyball team heads to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament hoping to win the event for the seventh time and claim an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. This year’s MPSF tournament will be held at Stanford and the Waves will open play against Grand Canyon.

MATCH #30 Wednesday (April 19) at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, Calif.: #9 Pepperdine (16-13, 5-7 MPSF) vs. #7 Grand Canyon (21-6, 6-6 MPSF) 8:05 p.m.

MATCH #31 If Pepperdine wins…Thursday (April 20) at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, Calif.: MPSF Semifinals 4:35 or 7:05 p.m.

MATCH #32 If Pepperdine wins… Saturday (April 22 at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, Calif.: MPSF Final 6:05 p.m.

COVERAGE The MPSF tournament will be streamed online via FloVolleyball. A paid subscription is required to view. Links to broadcasts and live stats can be found at PepperdineWaves.com

BUNTING Full session and round tickets are available. Links can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.

FOLLOW Follow the Waves on Facebook and Twitter @PeppVolleyball and follow the team on Instagram @peppmvb. Get the latest schedules, scores and more at www.PepperdineWaves.com.

MPSF TOURNAMENT HISTORY Pepperdine has won the MPSF tournament six times, most recently in 2023, and has an all-time record of 32-21 (.604). The Waves have won at least one match in 17 of 27 tournaments.

Last season, the Waves reached the final as the No. 3 seed, beat No. 6 BYU 3-2 and No. 2 USC 3-1 to reach the final against No. 5 Stanford. Pepperdine defeated the Cardinal in a thrilling five-setter to win the MPSF crown and secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

NCAA ELECTION PROMOTION The NCAA Selection Program will be broadcast live on NCAA.com on April 23 at 10 a.m. PT.

LAST WEEK The Waves fell hard in four sets against #2 UCLA, winning the first few sets before falling in both matches. in Malibu, Jaylen Jasper led with 17 kills Joe Deluzio also hit double figures with 11. Andersen Fuller produced seven blocks when Bryce Dvorak led with 43 assists, seven digs and one ace My Akinwumi and Brendan Read.

In the final match at Pauley Pavilion, Jasper again led the way with 15 kills Yadiel Diaz had a team-high six digs. Akinwumi was good for five blocks and Dvorak led the way with 32 assists.

THE WAVE REPORT The Waves finished the regular season 16-13 overall and 5-7 in the MPSF, 11-3 at home and 2-1 on neutral courts and 3-9 on the road. The team produced 13.07 kills/set at a .331 clip along with 12.29 assists, 1.48 aces, 7.55 digs and 1.70 blocks per set. Pepperdine allowed opponents 11.11 kills/set at .303, along with 10.64 assists, 1.27 aces, 6.49 digs and 2.48 blocks.

Jaylen Jasper leads the Waves with 5.02 kills/set and has done so on a .371 hitting percentage. Bryce Dvorak leads in playmaking duties with 10.70 assists/set. My Akinwumi led the team with 0.85 blocks and 0.36 aces per set and Trey Cole had a team-best 2.09 digs/set.

MPSF POSTSEASON ATTENDANCE Pepperdine had three players earn spots on the All-MPSF postseason teams, but Jaylen Jasper highlighted by being the ninth wave in program history to garner MPSF Player of the Year honors. He also tabbed first-team honors when Bryce Dvorak was named to the second team and My Akinwumi earned an honorable mention nod.

NATIONAL STATISTICS When the Regular Series ended, the Waves ranked second in the nation with 13.07 kills/set, third with 12.29 assists/set and seventh with a .331 hitting percentage and ranked 19th in service aces (1.48).

Bryce Dvorak also ranks second in the nation in assists/set (10.70). Jaylen Jasper is second in kills/set (5.02) and points/set (5.51), 7th in offense/set (9.08) and 14th in hitting percentage (.371), among other things. Trey Cole ranks 15th in digs/series (2.09) and My Akinwumi ranks 9th in hitting percentage (.426) and 34th in aces/set (0.36).

Opposition Pepperdine has a 9-4 all-time record against the Antelopes dating back to 2010, the first time the teams met, with the Waves winning in three sets. This season, every team played their matches. This will be the first time Pepperdine and Grand Canyon have met in the MPSF tournament. Records vs. Other Opponents in MPSF Tournament: Concordia 0-0, Stanford 4-4, UCLA 3-3, USC 3-3, BYU 5-3.