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Ilay Haver following Pepperdine fighting off a game-point and winning a lengthy rally in a second-game overtime grabbed the volleyball and emphatically spiked it to the ground.
The emotions were just that high in the moment – and for good reason.
It ended up being the turning point of the match.
Pepperdine fought off three game-points and won in overtime to en route to a comeback victory against the No. 4 seed Loyola 18-25, 28-26, 25-13, 25-20 in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday in Columbus, Ohio.
Haver had two kills on Loyola game-point opportunities to prevent the No. 5 seed Waves from dropping into a two-game deficit. The sophomore from Israel also had a solo block in the overtime to give Pepperdine the advantage and set up the Waves’ game-point.
Haver finished the match with six kills and zero errors on a .462 attack percentage and was one of four Waves with more than five kills.
Outside attacker Ryan Barnett had a match-high 17 kills, including a game-high five kills in the final game. Freshman outside attacker Cole Hartke added 11 kills and a kill on a Loyola game-point opportunity in the second game.
Middle attacker also finished with seven kills and zero errors on a .700 attack percentage highlighted with the game-winning kill in the overtime.
Pepperdine had more than a .400 attack percentage in two of the four games and for the match out-hit Loyola .295 to .218.
Opposite Parker Van Buren in the loss had a team-high 15 kills. The Waves, though, limited the MIVA Player of the Year to two kills and a negative attack percentage in the final two games.
Loyola middle attacker Nicodemus Meyer added eight kills and zero errors on a .727 attack percentage.
The Waves had a 6-2 run early in the fourth game to take a lead that they would not relinquish. Barrenett in the rally had an ace and block, while Hartke had two kills.
Pepperdine opened the third game on a 9-2 run that featured two aces from Hartke and four Ramblers attack errors. The Waves led by as many as 14 points en route to the largest margin of victory in a set so far during this NCAA Tournament.
Loyola in its opening-game victory limited Pepperdine to a .080 attack percentage and led by as many as eight points.
Van Buren led all players with six kills, including back-to-back kills as part of a 7-2 run midway through the game.
Pepperdine with this victory will advance to play the No. 1 seed Long Beach State in the NCAA Tournament semifinals on Saturday. Long Beach State swept the No. 8 seed Fort Valley State in its quarterfinal match on Thursday.
This will be the second meeting between the Waves and Beach with Long Beach State winning a non-conference match during the regular season.