GREG BARNETT
Sports Editor
After four consecutive post-season wins and a berth in the NCAA championship match, the Waves earned a victory in game one but couldn’t keep up the momentum as they fell to Penn State in the final (27-30, 33-31, 30-25, 30-23). The Waves ended their season with a 17-11 record while Penn State captured its second NCAA title and finished 30-1.
Pepperdine fell behind early in game one before storming back to win and kept the momentum in game two. The Waves earned two game points in game two but couldn’t finish off the Nittany Lions, dropping the game and the final two games.
Head Coach Marv Dunpy said the Nittany Lions used their middle blockers very well and he was not surprised that they used them so consistently.
“Their middles were more experienced and came in with higher pedigree than ours,” Dunphy said. “We expected them to run the middle and I thought they did really well.”
Junior opposite Paul Carroll pounded 35 kills and also tallied a team-high 8 digs to lead the Waves. Junior outside hitter J.D. Schleppenbach added 15 kills and 2 service aces. Senior setter Jonathan Winder ended his fantastic Pepperdine carreer with 60 assists, 7 digs and 2 blocks. All three players were named to the NCAA All-Tournament team.
Pepperdine struggled out of the gates, falling behind quickly 13-6, but righted the ship to tie score, 18-18. The Waves never lost the lead and a couple blocks at the end won the game with the game-winning block coming from Schleppenbach and freshman middle blocker Tyler Jaynes.
Game two was close throughout with each team grabbing the momentum and the lead. The Waves took the lead, 15-14, after three kills from freshman Cory Rieks. However, a television timeout stalled the Waves’ momentum and Penn State stormed out of the break to a 6-1 run. Pepperdine managed to chip away at the lead and tied the score, 27-27. With the score tied at 28, Carroll gave the Waves the lead and a game-point with a monster block. However, Pepperdine couldn’t convert on that point nor another game point and Penn State took advantage by winning three of the next four points to win the game, 33-31.
“It felt like (momentum) had swung over our way,” Carroll said of his block that gave the Waves the lead 29-28 in game two. “But they were able to rally with the last few points. They made some good plays to win the game.”
Pepperdine seemed to get back on track by building a 10-8 lead in game three, but the Nittany Lions later went on a 3-0 run to take the lead for good at 14-12. Penn State went on another 3-0 run to build its largest lead of the game, 22-17. The Waves rallied to within one point at 26-25, but the Nittany Lions scored the final four points of the game with two blocks and two kills.
There was little drama in game four as Penn State scored the first six points of the game. Pepperdine got within four points twice but that was as close as they could get.
“I give a lot to credit to Penn State,” Dunphy said. “We had some chances and we kind of snuck back in to win game one and in game two they made some good plays to win that. Maybe if we win that, we’re still playing but when it was tied they made the plays and that’s the way it goes.”
When reflecting on his career at Pepperdine, Winder said it was hard to believe that it was over and that it was a blessing to be able to go to Pepperdine. “It was a great decision to come here,” Winder said who ended one of the best volleyball careers in school history with three NCAA tournament appearances, four All-American honors, the 2007 AVCA National Player of the Year award and the 2005 national championship. “It’s going to be hard to leave, the coaching staff has been incredible and it’s been a blessing to have them. Pepperdine is one of the classiest schools in the country, there is really no place like it,” he added. “I’ve been truly blessed to be there. We have to best coaches in America. The awards are cool and it was great winning the national championship freshman year but it’s not the statistics or awards that made my career great, it’s the person I’ve become on and off the court.”
05-05-2008