Matt LLewellyn
Staff Writer
Pepperdine senior outside hitter
Sean Rooney scores a kill against
N0.-1 UCLA.
Graham Shea / Asst. Photo Editor
While most students were enjoying the sun and fun during Spring Break, the Pepperdine men’s volleyball team was hard at work making a name for themselves.
The Waves are 14-1 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play and are now the top-ranked team in the country. Pepperdine is off to its best start since 2002 when they finished first in the conference at 20-2.
The Waves are on a tear coming off their fourth consecutive win against top-10 opponents, not to mention defeating the then-No. 1 UCLA Bruins on Saturday night.
Over the break, the Waves were ranked third in MPSF and looked to face University of Hawaii, at the time the No.-2 team in the country.
On March 2, the Waves defeated the second-ranked Warriors 3-2 in Honolulu. Pepperdine then proved to the Hawaii natives that the first win was no fluke as they defeated the Warriors 3-1 the next evening at the sold out Stan Sheriff Center.
Graham Shea / Asst. Photo
Editor
The Waves then returned home and hosted No. 9-ranked University of California, Irvine. The Anteaters came into the contest with a 6-15 overall record while being 4-10 in the MPSF. The Waves got off to a slow start, falling behind 7-5 early. However, the players regained focus and dominated throughout the rest of game one.
Pepperdine was led once again by senior All-American Sean Rooney, who came up with three consecutive kills, which stopped the UCI momentum and gave Pepperdine a permanent lead.
Late in game one, with the score at 25-21, the Anteater’s Matt Webber dug the ball straight up into the air, which shattered a light fixture above center court. Glass fell all over the floor and delayed the game.
The broken glass did provide the Anteaters with a chance to regroup, but it wasn’t enough as the Waves picked up right where they left off.
Pepperdine received major contributions from senior outside hitter John Mayer and senior libero James Ka.
After an up-and-down first game, the Waves picked up the pace and went on to sweep UCI in three straight games. Despite playing well in every other aspect of the game, Pepperdine struggled from the service line coming up with five service errors in game three alone, frustrating the coaches.
“We are playing well enough to win, but we have much to work on in order to be considered the best,” said Head Coach Marv Dunphy.
Despite their service problems, the Waves were excited with their play and were looking forward to facing the No. 1-ranked Bruins.
UCLA came into Firestone Fieldhouse with an 18-3 overall record while holding the top ranking all season long. The Bruins were greeted by a large Pepperdine crowd of 2,450 — the largest crowd of the season.
The match had a championship atmosphere, which contributed to the excitement in the Fieldhouse.
The match got underway, and Pepperdine appeared to be struggling but clawed their way back late in game one. With the Waves down a point 27-26, Rooney came up with a huge kill putting things at a tie.
However, that didn’t last long as the Waves made back-to-back errors handing game one to the Bruins. Games two and three consisted of many lead changes and several long rallies. The Waves established an early lead in game two, which didn’t last long as the Bruins fought back. The Waves were able to maintain their composure and pull out the win.
“Our first match against the Bruins they exploited our weaknesses, but we have made adjustments, which enabled us to win,” said sophomore middle blocker Tom Hulse.
Pepperdine went on to win game three, which proved to be a great sign for Dunphy’s group. In both game two and three, the Waves held the Bruins to just a .162 hitting percentage and dominated at the net.
In game four, the Waves found themselves up early, but each time the Bruins responded with an answer of their own. The Waves made several unforced errors, which the Bruins capitalized on capping off the win and knotting things at two games apiece, setting up a decisive game five.
As game five got underway, freshman setter Jonathan Winder, who was named National Player of the Week by College Sports TV, made two outstanding plays, which gave the Waves a three-point lead late in the game.
The Waves moved and never looked back recording 11 kills with just two service errors, while hitting .529. Pepperdine sophomore outside hitter John Parfitt came up with several key plays late in the fifth game as the Waves won the raucous match 3-2.
“We need to sideout at a much higher percentage and continue to improve each day at practice,” Dunphy said. The Waves now hold a 1.5-game lead on the Bruins in the conference standings.
Pepperdine hosts University of Southern California tonight at 7.
03-17-2005
