No. 4 Pepperdine Visits No. 6 UCLA in First-Place Battle
Photo: Kaleb Denmark, Pepperdine (Courtesy Pepperdine Athletics)
MPSF Men's Volleyball Weekly Release 8
DAENAN GYIMAH OF UCLA MPSF/MOLTEN OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UCLA junior middle blocker Daenan Gyimah (Scarborough, Ontario, Canada) helped lead the Bruins to MPSF wins at Concordia (Feb. 20) and at home vs. No. 14 USC (Feb. 24), hitting a collective .629 (25-3-35) with 4.17 kills per set. He hit .722 against USC (14-1-18) and .529 (11-2-17) at CUI. He has hit at least .500 in 11 outings this year, and has one or less errors in eight matches. This is the fifth career MPSF weekly award for Gyimah, third on the offensive side.
Others Nominated: Gabi Garcia Fernandez (BYU); Michael Wexter (PEP); Jordan Ewert (STAN)…
KALEB DENMARK OF PEPPERDINE MPSF/MOLTEN DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Pepperdine senior outside hitter Kaleb Denmark (Redlands, CA/Arrowhead Christian Academy) recorded a career-high 12 digs and added three blocks (3.0 digs/set, 0.75 blocks/set) to lead the Waves’ defensive effort in an MPSF road win at Concordia (Feb. 22). He had just one error on 24 service receptions. Denmark also had a strong match offensively, setting a career high hitting percentage at .417 (13-3-24), and recording his third double-double of the year. This is the first career MPSF weekly award for Denmark.
Others Nominated: Austin Matautia (UCLA); Miki Jauhiainen (BYU);
Stephen Moye (STAN)
NO. 4 PEPPERDINE VISITS NO. 6 UCLA WEDNESDAY IN FIRST-PLACE BATTLE
No. 4 PEPPERDINE (4-0 MPSF/11-2 Overall) takes a six-match win streak and unbeaten MPSF record to No. 6 UCLA Wednesday (Feb. 27, 7 pm; Pac-12 Networks)…the Waves came back to win in four sets at Concordia last Friday (Feb. 22), after dropping the first set…Michael Wexter accumulated 24 kills in the win (6.00 K/S), while hitting .452…he added 10 digs for the double-double, as well as three blocks…Kaleb Denmark also had a double-double on 13 kills (with a career-high .417 hitting clip) and a career-high 12 digs…the Waves also visit USC Saturday (Mar. 2).
No. 6 UCLA (4-0 MPSF/12-4 Overall) posted a pair of straight-set MPSF wins last week at Concordia (Feb. 20) and at home over No. 14 USC (Feb. 24), setting up Wednesday’s first-place clash in Westwood with No. 4 Pepperdine…Daenan Gyimah, No. 2 in the nation in hitting, hit .629 last week (25-3-35) with 4.17 kills per set…he hit .722 vs. USC (14-1-18)…Austin Matautia was an errorless .407 at Concordia (11-0-27)…Brandon Rattray hit .583 vs. USC with a match-high 17 kills, and served six aces for the week (1.00 A/S).
No. 8 STANFORD (3-2 MPSF/11-5 Overall) won a pair of straight-set home matches last week over Grand Canyon (Feb. 21) and UC San Diego (Feb. 23)…Jordan Ewert hit .438 for the week (26-5-48), averaging 4.33 kills, 1.83 digs, and 0.83 blocks per set…Stephen Moye accumulated a weekly hitting clip of .867 with 13 kills on 15 errorless swings, adding eight blocks (1.33 B/S)…Stanford plays a home-and-home with BYU this week, visiting Provo on Thursday (Feb. 28, 7 pm; BYUtv), before hosting the Cougars Saturday (Mar. 2, 7 pm; Pac-12 Networks).
No. 9 BYU (3-2 MPSF/7-4 Overall) won a four-set MPSF home match over Grand Canyon (Feb. 23)… Gabi Garcia Fernandez led all players with 20 kills and nine digs...
Wil Stanley added 36 assists and Miki Jauhiainen totaled a career-high nine blocks…BYU had a season-high 13.5 blocks…BYU hosts Stanford Thursday before facing the Cardinal on the road Saturday.
No. 13 USC (1-3 MPSF/7-7 Overall) dropped its lone match last week at No. 6 UCLA (Feb. 24)…Ryan Moss hit .467 (8-1-15)…Sam Lewis had a match-high four blocks…the Trojans visit Concordia Thursday (Feb. 28), before hosting Pepperdine Saturday (Mar. 2).
CONCORDIA (1-4 MPSF/5-12 Overall) came up short at home to MPSF leaders No. 6 UCLA (Feb. 20) and No. 4 Pepperdine (Feb. 22)…the Eagles remain home this week in MPSF action vs. USC Thursday (Feb. 28)
GRAND CANYON (0-5 MPSF/7-10 Overall) fell at No. 8 Stanford (Feb. 21) and No. 9 BYU (Feb. 23)…David Kisiel had a team-high 16 kills in Provo…the Antelopes host UCLA Friday (Mar. 1).