MALIBU, Calif. ­— Senior All-American Paul Carroll had a match-high 19 kills and the #4 Pepperdine men’s volleyball team got outstanding play from its middle blockers in a three-game sweep of #3 Stanford in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match on Saturday night.

The Waves (5-0 overall, 4-0 MPSF) stayed unbeaten with the 30-25, 30-26, 30-26 victory over the Cardinal (5-3, 1-2). It was Pepperdine’s 16th consecutive win over Stanford, and its 12th straight in Firestone Fieldhouse.

Carroll (Forster, Australia) hit .415 (19-2-41) and had seven digs and three blocks. Junior middle blocker Rodnei Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil/BYU) had 15 kills, hit .619 (15-2-21) and had four blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Tyler Jaynes (Granite Bay, Calif./Granite Bay HS) had 11 kills, hit .588 (11-1-17) and had seven blocks.

Sophomore setter Kasey Crider (Granite Bay, Calif./Granite Bay HS) had a double-double with 47 assists and 11 digs, and directed Pepperdine to a .405 hitting percentage.

Stanford, which hit. 234, got 15 kills apiece from Evan Romero and Spencer McLachlin.

Stanford was up 6-5 in the first game, but the Waves scored the next three points to take the lead for good. It was 15-13 when the Waves went on a 4-1 run with sophomore outside hitter Cory Riecks (Auburn, Calif./Placer HS) collecting a kill and teaming up with Jaynes on two blocks. That gave Pepperdine a 19-14 lead, and the Waves later went up 21-15 after a Jaynes service ace. Stanford would rally, however, scoring four straight points and eventually cutting the lead to one point at 24-23 and 25-24. The Waves would score five of the next six points to end the game, however, with senior outside hitter Matt McKee (Aurora, Ill./Aurora West HS) getting two kills and a block.

The Waves had to come back from a couple of deficits in game two. Stanford led 11-8 before Pepperdine tied it at 12-12. The Cardinal also led at 17-14 before Pepperdine tied it at 18-18. The game was then tied at 19, 20, 21 and 22, when the Waves scored three straight points on a Stanford service error and two attack errors. A service ace by Carroll later made it 29-25, and Santos ended the game with a kill.

Game three was close until the end. Stanford held a 22-21 lead, but Pepperdine went on a 7-2 run to take a 28-24. Tied 23-23, Carroll had three consecutive kills to put the Waves ahead to stay. Santos ended the match on a kill.

Pepperdine had a 12-5 edge in blocks.

The Waves next host #6 USC in an MPSF match on Friday night (Jan. 30) at 7 p.m.