MALIBU, Calif.  ?After forcing the Waves to five sets earlier this month, the 9th-ranked UC San Diego men's volleyball team was no match for No. 3 Pepperdine, falling to the Waves 30-26, 30-20, 30-13 on Thursday night at Firestone Fieldhouse.  The Tritons were led by Jason Spangler with 11 kills while Gerald Houseman and Calvin Ross added six kills apiece.  Pepperdine outhit the Tritons .475 - .085.  National kills leader Paul Carroll had 18 kills to lead the Waves.  With the loss, UCSD drops to 10-11, 6-10 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while the Waves improve to 15-2, 13-2 MPSF.

In the first set with the Tritons down 18-12, Will Ehrman sent down consecutive kills to pull the Tritons within 18-14, forcing the Waves to call timeout.  Pepperdine responded with consecutive points to push the lead back up to six at 20-14.  The Tritons had another push as Jason Spangler sent down a kill, pulling UCSD within 22-19.  Three points would be as close as the Tritons would get as Pepperdine took set one 30-26.

In the second set, the Waves scored 10 of the first 13 points and never looked back.  Pepperdine led by 10 points for most of the set before taking the set 30-20.

Pepperdine picked up where they left off in the third set, scoring the first four points and extending the lead to 16-4.  The Waves would lead by as many as 17 points, scoring 26 points before UCSD scored its tenth point of the set.  Pepperdine took the set 30-13.

UCSD is back in action on Saturday night when it takes on No. 4 USC in Los Angeles.  First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Galen Center.