VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds men's volleyball team lost 3-0 to the Pepperdine (Calif.) Waves, the 11th-ranked team in the NCAA, Wednesday afternoon in Malibu, Calif. The set scores were 25-17, 25-22 and 27-25. 
 
The match, which was part of Pepperdine's Can-Am Challenge, was the second of three in California for the T-Birds. UBC will face Pepperdine again on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m.
 
Outside hitter Irvan Brar (Surrey, B.C.) knocked down 13 kills to lead UBC, while outside hitter Mac McNicol (Calgary) had 11. With eight kills in 11 swings, senior middle Alex Russell (Surrey, B.C.) had the best hitting percentage on the squad at .636.
 
Setter Milan Nikic (Calgary) had 32 assists for the Thunderbirds while rookie outside hitter Zach Albert (Brampton, Ont.) had a team-high seven digs.
 
The Waves jumped out to a 12-6 advantage in the opening set, forcing UBC to call its first timeout. Coming out of the stoppage, Brar recorded two straight kills. Then the teams traded points, with the T-Birds eventually cutting their deficit to 17-13, thanks to kills from McNicol and Brar. However, Pepperdine reeled off the next four points to build an eight-point lead, which ended up as the margin of victory in the first set for the hosts.
 
UBC won four of the first five points in the second set, including contributions from Russell (kill) and Albert (service ace) before Russell teamed with Brar on the combination block.
 
A kill by middle Joel Regehr (Courtenay, B.C.) put the Thunderbirds up 8-6. However, a UBC service error gave Pepperdine the lead at 13-12, which the team didn't surrender the rest of the way.
 
An ace by setter Byron Keturakis (Surrey, B.C.) got the T-Birds within a point at 22-21. Two plays later, he assisted on a Regehr kill that closed UBC to 23-22, but the host Waves earn the next two points for the set win.
 
The teams needed extra points to settle the third set, which was tied on 11 different occasions and had four lead changes.
 
An attack error by the home team pushed UBC to an 11-10 lead, but the Waves regained the advantage after claiming three straight points. The Thunderbirds evened the score at 16-16, but again, Pepperdine went back ahead, this time on a 5-1 surge.
 
Facing two match points with the Waves up 24-22, UBC saved the first on a Brar kill, and the second on an attack error by the hosts. Russell's kill helped the T-Birds fight off a third match point to tie the score at 25-25, but Pepperdine won the next two plays to finish the match in straight sets.
 
After Friday's match against the Waves, UBC will return home to prepare for its first Canada West games of 2016, which will take place Jan. 15-16 at home against Brandon.