GARRETT WAIT
Sports Editor
After a slow start against No. 4 University of California, Irvine, the Pepperdine men’s volleyball team found another gear and disposed of its third straight opponent in four games at Firestone Fieldhouse Friday night.
The Waves, who got senior middle blocker Andy Hein back from an ankle injury, hit just .128 in the first game, falling 30-26 to the Anteaters in the first frame. With the Waves up 22-20, Pepperdine allowed UC Irvine to go on a 6-0 run that drastically shifted the momentum in the visitors’ favor.
In the second game, a back-and-forth affair, Hein was able to get a kill with the score tied at 29 and freshman outside hitter Paul Carroll put the game away with a block. The Waves’ 31-29 victory in the second game signaled another change in momentum, according to Head Coach Marv Dunphy.
“I thought that we took a little bit better care of the ball after the first game,” Dunphy said. “We were better receiving serve, setting and hitting than in game one. We made some errors that cost us, and they took advantage of them and scored some points. We steadied out halfway through game two and stopped shooting ourselves in the foot.”
The third game saw Pepperdine pull away to win 30-27 with a 5-2 run late in the game thanks to kills by Carroll, junior John Parfitt, senior Jon Grobe and sophomore Jonathan Winder. The fourth game was a blowout after the score was tied at 5-5. Pepperdine ended up going on a 13-4 run to put the match away.
Hein’s return after suffering an ankle injury against Stanford University was one of the keys for success for the Waves, according to Dunphy.
“He’s real important to us,” Dunphy said. “They paid a lot of attention to him. They were committing two guys to him on every play and that opened it up for Paul on right side, the back side, and Paul came through for us.”
Carroll led three Waves with double-figure kill totals, tallying 19 on a .400 hitting percentage. Dunphy said the impact he’s had as a freshman was expected despite an injury that sidelined him during fall practices.
“He had a real bad ankle break so he just got cleared to play at the first of the year,” Dunphy said. “He’s just now getting his legs underneath him so we expect him to carry an even bigger load the rest of the season.”
Parfitt had 17 kills and Grobe contributed 14 of his own as the Waves remained undefeated at 3-0. The loss dropped UC Irvine to 5-2 on the season and 1-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Dunphy gave the Anteaters a lot of credit for giving the Waves a run for their money.
“They made some plays,” Dunphy said. “They’re a good team. They were controlling the match in the first game. They made some great digs and great hits. They were in control but we steadied ourselves out and won it.”
Pepperdine’s first road match is Thursday against No. 1 Long Beach State University. Seniors Robert Tarr, Duncan Budinger and Tyler Hildebrand will lead the 49ers’ well-rounded attack. Dunphy said the 49ers’ experience is one of the big reasons they’re thought of so highly this season.
“They have everybody back so they’re experienced and they’re steady,” Dunphy said. “They don’t make a lot of errors. They’re just a good team and it’s not just me saying it. They’re close to being a unanimous No. 1 in the coaches’ poll. They’re very consistent, and they’re the type of team that’s real balanced. It’s not any one thing that makes them great. We just have to have to do the same.”
Pepperdine’s second and final match of the weekend is at University of California, San Diego, a team that has struggled so far to an 0-5 record. The road trip south is the first leg of a four-game trip that includes two matches in Utah against Brigham Young University on Feb. 3 and 4.
01-26-2006
