GARRETT WAIT
Sports Editor
By now, every Pepperdine student should know that the men’s volleyball team won the 2005 national championship. The banner’s on the wall, there was a celebration during Convo at the beginning of the year and championship T-shirts can be seen all around campus on the backs of proud Waves fans.
However, defending that title won’t be a walk in the park, according to Head Coach Marv Dunphy.
“We’re ranked around fifth or sixth in various polls,” Dunphy said. “With the amount of people we lost, we lost more than anybody, we wouldn’t be the favorite.”
This year will be an uphill battle for the Waves, who lost Sean Rooney, the American Volleyball Coaches’ Association Player of the Year as well as a pair of the best passers in Pepperdine history in John Mayer and James Ka. Dunphy knows how tough it will be to replace those players, especially Rooney.
“Rooney, he’s one of the best in the history of collegiate volleyball,” Dunphy said. “There are no Sean Rooney’s in this league. In college volleyball, he was unique. He’s one of those guys that don’t come along very often.”
But it’s not as though the cupboard is totally bare for the Waves. They still have 2005 AVCA Newcomer of the Year Jonathan Winder setting up his hitters. Dunphy expects the sophomore to really come into his own this season with the team asking him to do a lot more than just set.
“Last year, we just said ‘set Rooney, set Hein’ and some other guys,” Dunphy said. “This year we’re going to have him mix it all up. You know, serve, dig, block. We expect a lot from him but he’s got big shoulders, I think he can handle it.”
Also back for the Waves is senior middle blocker Andy Hein, who led the team with 165 blocks this past season. He and junior John Parfitt, both returning starters, will be relied on heavily if the Waves are to repeat last year’s sensational run.
Being thrown into the mix are junior Jon Grobe, a backup during the past season to Rooney, and Australian freshman Paul Carroll, who will be manning the outside for Pepperdine. Dunphy said this team is a new entity and will have to find its own way.
“Every year, every team has to establish its own identity,” Dunphy said. “We’re very proud of having won it all last year and the guys this year know what’s expected of them. The standard’s on the wall, everybody knows that. But it’s a new cast of characters this year and we’re working real hard.”
Not all the faces are the same and this year’s team may not be as powerful as last year’s juggernaut, but these guys are ready for the challenge and will put up a strong defense of the title.
01-19-2006
