Matt Llewellyn
Staff Writer
The No.-1 ranked Pepperdine men’s volleyball team is coming off its 15th-consecutive win. The Waves recently helped Head Coach Marv Dunphy win his 400th career match. Not to mention, the Waves have held the No.-1 spot in the country for the third consecutive week. The Waves completed a five-game home stand against the 10th ranked Stanford Cardinal, defeating them 3-1 Friday night.
The Cardinal jumped out early in front of a home crowd of 871 in Firestone Fieldhouse. Despite the home-court advantage, the Waves appeared to be disoriented in game one, which allowed the Cardinal to take the early lead. The Waves hitting percentage was extremely low in game one, hitting .194 and not capitalizing on service opportunities. The 10th ranked Cardinal hit .290 in the opening game, giving Pepperdine fits. The Waves went on to lose game one 23-30.
Head Coach Marv Dunphy rallied his troops and received a response in game two. The Waves appeared to be back on track, having found their rhythm. In addition, the powerful middle blockers began to dominate at the net.
The Waves held the Cardinal to .027 hitting percentage and turned back nine Cardinal attacks. The Waves began to run away with game two, immediately following back-to-back blocks from senior outside hitter John Mayer and sophomore middle blocker John Parfitt. The Waves took a commanding lead and went on to tie the match at one game apiece.
In game three, the Waves continued to block well, but the Cardinal refused to give in to the Pepperdine attack. With the game knotted at 15 all, the Waves went on a tear, unleashing 10 unanswered points, which finalized the game and the win.
Game four was a battle as both teams were able to counter each other’s attacks. The game got as close as 25-24, but the Waves took charge and went on to win game four 30-27.
Friday night’s match was another impressive showing for the Waves. Individually there were several Wave players who stood out, having great performances. Senior All-American Sean Rooney recorded 25 kills on 56 errorless swings. Parfitt recorded 12 kills, being the only other Wave in double figures.
Mayer, who was recently featured in Volleyball Magazine for his versatility and outstanding play, nearly recorded a triple-double with eight kills, 12 digs and eight blocks. Also contributing was junior middle blocker Andy Hein, recording 9 kills and four blocks.
“This Wave win was huge, because everyone stepped up and played big when we needed it,” said freshman setter Jonathan Winder.
Pepperdine now looks ahead to No. 3-ranked California State University, Long Beach.
The last meeting between these two teams was a nail biter. Despite the win for the Waves, the match went down to the fifth and deciding game. The Waves held home-court advantage, but tonight they’ll face the Beach on their home turf in Long Beach territory.
Many anticipate this to be one of the best matches of the year because of the intense rivalry that exists, and Long Beach’s All-American setter Tyler Hildebrand will go up against Pepperdine All-American Sean Rooney. Game time is 7 p.m.
03-31-2005
