Matt Llewellyn
Staff Writer
The No. 2-ranked men’s volleyball team (8-1, 8-1 MPSF) is off to its best start since 2003.
The Waves have now won seven consecutive matches after defeating Brigham Young University. BYU was supposed to pose a great challenge to the Waves, but Pepperdine rolled as they defeated the No. 6-ranked Cougars twice this weekend.
The Waves finished the Cougars off early in an impressive showing. As the game got underway, the Waves established their game plan early. Game one began with a seesaw battle, which consisted of multiple lead changes. Late in the game the score was tied at 21 a piece, but the Waves unleashed a four-point run, which gave them momentum heading into the final moments. The Cougars did a poor job serving the ball, which definitely affected them late in game one, as they butchered two serves giving the Waves a healthier lead. Game one came to a close as senior All-American Sean Rooney and junior middle blocker Andy Hein teamed up for back-to-back kills.
In game two, the Waves found themselves down 3-0 early, leading to a timeout called by Head Coach Marv Dunphy. The Waves responded positively back on the court, capping off a 3-0 run of their own. Later in the game, freshman setter, Jonathan Winder, gave the Waves a lift with a service ace. As the Cougars tried to find an answer, the Waves continued passing the ball well and taking advantage of open opportunities. The Waves found themselves up 28-21 late in game two before they closed the deal on the Cougars.
In game three, the defending national champions responded with a lot of intensity, which resulted in the early lead for the Cougars. BYU went up 4-1 as the Waves struggled with the Cougars outside hitters. But the team put together another impressive run, which brought things closer to a 23-19 score. However, the lead was too much to overcome as BYU went on to win their only game of the night.
In game four, the Waves found momentum early and went up 13-6 over the Cougars. Hein again came up huge down the stretch as he responded with a huge kill, sending Pepperdine on another 4-0 run.
“As a team we wanted to stop the momentum of BYU,” Hein said. “We have done a better job stopping point runs, which is why we have been so successful as of late.”
The Waves were then in the driver seat and put the Cougars away, finalizing the game at 30-17. Rooney tallied up 17 kills, a team high.
In Saturday night’s meeting with the Cougars, Pepperdine honored the 1985 NCAA national championship team before the match. With championship-caliber alumni in attendance, the Waves picked a great night for another great win. The Waves had their way with BYU the previous night, but made it look a little too easy in Saturday night’s victory.
The men came out early, establishing a 7-2 lead in game one, which was followed by a BYU timeout. Despite the Cougars timeout the Waves continued to roll. Sophomore middle blocker Tom Hulse played very solid in game one coming up with several key kills, which later transcended into a stellar service game. Immediately following Hulse’s service ace, things began to fall apart for BYU as they could not put the ball in play. Later in the game, the Waves blocked BYU five consecutive times, sealing the victory.
Again BYU responded well being down 1-0, but the Waves were relentless and hungry for game two. There were several lead changes with five ties, but Rooney gave the Waves a lift after a kill following a 16-16 game.
“I have been very fortunate to play on such good Pepperdine teams,” Rooney said. “But this team has a lot of young talent, which I think will play a huge roll in our national title hopes.”
This momentum carried the Waves through as they went on to win game two. Game three was a breeze as Rooney, Hein and Hulse took control for the Waves.
The Waves next match will be on Feb. 23 at 5:30 p.m. against Cal State Northridge at Firestone Fieldhouse.
02-17-2005
