MALIBU, Calif. – The Wildcats started Year 3 in a their biggest road swing in program history on the west coast. Fort Valley State battled hard in its 2024 men's volleyball season opener, but host Pepperdine University took the match, 3-0.

FVSU (0-1) held leads in each of the first two sets, but it could not maintain them the entire sets as Pepperdine (1-0) went ahead 2-0 with 25-17 and 25-14 finals. After a Jaxon Hicks kills for the Wildcats pulled them to within 8-6 of set three, the Waves went on a 9-1 run and rode the good play to a 25-12 final to finish the match.

Oshane Farquharson and Chey Cooper paced the Wildcats with five kills apiece to go with six and five digs. Hicks added four winners, four digs and two blocks. Jose Gallardo handed out 14 assists to go with six digs and a kill.

Kevin Roberts of Pepperdine led all frontline players with 11 kills. The Waves finished with a .427 team hitting percentage.

In the opening set, FVSU fell behind early 3-0, but it rallied to take a 5-4 edge on a Cooper kill. The Waves regained the advantage with seven of the next eight points and never trailed again as the visitors came to within three points five times with the final one being at 15-12 before the 25-17 final.

Cooper helped the Wildcats take an early 3-1 lead in the second set and a combo block by Hicks and De'vonte Payton kept the visitors ahead, 8-5. Farquharson downed a winner to give FVSU a 9-7 lead, but Pepperdine went on a 6-1 spurt for the 13-10 lead. FVSU was only able to get back to within two points, 13-11 and 14-12, before the 25-14 final.

FVSU will travel over to Los Angeles on Thursday where it will battle UCLA in a 5 p.m. PST/8 p.m. EST match.

-Wildcats-