Slow Start Stalls Card

MALIBU, Calif. – Hitting .259 as a team, No. 12 Stanford dropped a 25-18, 25-19, 25-19 decision at No. 8 Pepperdine, Thursday, at Firestone Fieldhouse.

Pepperdine (15-9, 6-5 MPSF) hit .419 as a team and registered seven aces. The Waves out dug the Cardinal (12-12, 4-7 MPSF), 32-21, and both team totaled 4.0 blocks.

Ethan Hill and Luke Turner finished with seven kills each. At middle blocker, Hill hit .500 and notched two digs and a block. Turner, Stanford's starting opposite, turned in a .312 attack percentage, five digs and two blocks.

Junior Will Rottman had a team-high nine kills, but was held to a .152 attack percentage. The outside hitter is in the top 5 nationally in kills and points this season.

Stanford had a slow start to the match, managing just seven kills on .045 hitting in the first. Pepperdine has now won 11 straight matches versus the Cardinal.

Setter Nathan Lietzke tallied 29 assists to go with five digs, a block and a kill. Libero Justin Lui also had five digs and three assists.

Outside hitter Kevin Lamp posted five kills, three digs and a solo block. Lamp also had one of Stanford's two aces, while sophomore Chris Kelly had the other. Middle blocker Nathaniel Gates chipped in with four kills on .429 hitting and a block.

Pepperdine was led by Alex Gettinger, who had a match-high 15 kills on .500 hitting to go with seven digs. Spencer Wickens added seven kills and nine digs for the Waves.

Stanford and Pepperdine meet again on Saturday in the regular season finale for both teams.