Men's Volleyball Aims for Sixth NCAA Title
4/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
UPCOMING — The Pepperdine men’s volleyball team takes aim at a sixth NCAA volleyball title this week, as the Waves earned the #2 seed for the four-team NCAA Championships following a dramatic victory in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament. Pepperdine opens with MPSF rival and #3 seed Long Beach State on Thursday night. UC Irvine is the host of the event.
MATCH #27 — Thursday (May 1) at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif.: second-seeded Pepperdine (16-10) vs. third-seeded Long Beach State (23-6) at approximately 8 p.m. in the NCAA semifinals. It will be preceded by the other semifinal between top-seeded Penn State (28-1) and fourth-seeded Ohio State (20-7) at 6 p.m.
MATCH #28? — If the Waves defeat Long Beach State, they will advance to the national championship match on Saturday (May 3) at 4 p.m.
ON TELEVISION — Both semifinal matches and the national championship will be televised by ESPN2. Beth Mowins and Karch Kiraly will call the action.
TICKETS — Waves fans can purchase all-session tickets through the Pepperdine Ticket Office (866-WAVE-TIX) until 10 a.m. on Wednesday (April 30). All-session passes are $25 for adults and $18 for youth. After that, tickets can be purchased through the Bren Events Center Ticket Office (949-824-5000). Single-session passes are $15 for adults and $10 for youth.
RANKINGS — In the April 28 AVCA poll, Penn State is #1, Pepperdine is #2, Long Beach State is #3 and Ohio State is #7. After being stuck at #5 for the last two months, this is the Waves’ best ranking since the first few weeks of the season, when they were also #2.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY — Pepperdine has won five NCAA men’s volleyball championships (1978, 1985, 1986, 1992, 2005), second-most among all NCAA schools. This is Pepperdine’s 15th appearance at the NCAA Championships, and is the sixth since 2000 (2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008). The Waves have a 16-9 (.640) record at the NCAA Championships.
NCAA TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE — Jonathan Winder was the starting setter on the 2005 championship team. Alex Castillo, Eric Liebert and Brent Smith were redshirts on that squad. The Waves defeated Ohio State and UCLA at Pauley Pavilion that year. Last year, Winder, Paul Carroll and J.D. Schleppenbach were all starters on the team that lost to IPFW in the 2007 national semifinals in Columbus, Ohio.
LONG BEACH STATE — Pepperdine is 39-35 all-time against Long Beach State. This will mark the first matchup between the two schools at the NCAA Championships. The Waves have won two of the previous three meetings this season. The 49ers won at home on Jan. 30 in a three-game sweep (Pepperdine’s Paul Carroll was out with a hand injury at the time). Pepperdine won at home on Feb. 13 in a three-game sweep (it was Carroll’s first match back after missing eight matches). The Waves then knocked off the 49ers in three games in the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament on April 24 in Long Beach.
PENN STATE — Pepperdine is 16-3 all-time against Penn State. The last meeting was in 2001, a three-game sweep for the Waves in Malibu. The schools have met in the NCAA Championships three times. The Waves won all three in the semifinal round: 1983 (in Columbus, Ohio), 1986 (at Penn State) and 1992 (in Muncie, Ind.).
OHIO STATE — Pepperdine is 14-4 all-time against Ohio State. The Waves are 3-2 against the Buckeyes in the NCAA Tournament. Pepperdine won in the 1976 semifinals (in Muncie, Ind.), the 1978 semifinals (at Ohio State) and the 2005 semfinals (at UCLA). Ohio State won in the 1977 semifinals (at UCLA) and the 2000 semifinals (in Fort Wayne, Ind.). The 2005 national semifinal was the last time the two teams met.
MPSF TOURNAMENT PERFORMANCES — Jonathan Winder was named MPSF Tournament MVP and Paul Carroll and J.D. Schleppenbach were named to the All-Tournament team ... Winder also earned AVCA National Player of the Week honors following the semifinal and final matches, while Carroll earned the AVCA National Player of the Week award after the first-round victory ... Over the three matches, Winder averaged 13.00 assists, 1.83 digs, 1.08 blocks and 0.83 kills ... Carroll averaged 6.42 kills, 2.17 digs and 0.83 blocks ... Schleppenbach averaged 3.33 kills, 2.00 digs and 0.83 blocks ... Cory Riecks averaged 3.40 kills ... Mark Hulse and Tyler Jaynes averaged 1.83 and 1.25 blocks, respectively ... Sean Grubbs averaged 2.50 digs ... As a team, Pepperdine outhit its opponents .291 to .261.
MPSF FINAL RECAP — It seemed unlikely at the start of the tournament and even more improbable when the Waves were facing match point during game three of the MPSF Tournament championship match, but Pepperdine rallied to win the title with a five-game victory (28-30, 28-30, 32-30, 30-27, 15-8) against second-seeded and third-ranked Brigham Young on Saturday (April 26) in Long Beach. Jonathan Winder had 63 assists and 15 digs, Paul Carroll had a match-high 27 kills and 10 digs and J.D. Schleppenbach had a career-high 23 kills and 12 digs. Pepperdine outhit BYU, .296 to .241.
MPSF SEMIFINAL RECAP — An outstanding performance lifted Pepperdine over top-seeded and second-ranked Long Beach State in three games (30-27, 30-22, 43-41) at the Walter Pyramid on Thursday (April 24). In game one, the Waves made a tremendous comeback to rally from a 22-14 deficit. Game three tied for the second-longest in MPSF history and the Waves finally won it on their 12th match point. Paul Carroll had a match-high 21 kills. Jonathan Winder had 35 assists and six blocks. Pepperdine outhit .289 to .233 and had a 15-8 edge in blocks, while the 49ers hurt themselves with 32 service errors.
MPSF FIRST ROUND RECAP — The Waves were the only road team/lower-seeded team to win during the first week of the MPSF Tournament, as fifth-seeded Pepperdine defeated fourth-seeded UCLA in four games (30-27, 20-30, 30-21, 30-28) at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday (April 19). The Bruins had defeated the Waves twice in the regular season, but both times Pepperdine was without Paul Carroll. Carroll made quite a difference with a match-high 29 kills to go with 11 digs, five blocks and four service aces. Cory Riecks added 22 kills and Jonathan Winder had 58 assists, five kills and five digs. UCLA actually outhit Pepperdine .313 to .286, which was the Waves’ lowest hitting percentage in a victory this season.
A GOOD DAY — Graduation ceremonies were held at Pepperdine on Saturday (April 26). Jonathan Winder, Alex Castillo, Brent Schirripa and Brent Smith walked through and received their diplomas, and then headed back to Long Beach for the MPSF Tournament final against BYU that night. It was an especially good night for Winder (he called it "the best day ever"), as he was named Tournament MVP.
FIRST TO 5K — Jonathan Winder broke the school’s career assists record on Jan. 19 against Stanford with his 3,939th assist. He became the first Wave to surpass the 4,000 mark against UC Irvine on Jan. 23, and then went past 5,000 during the fourth game of the MPSF Tournament final against BYU on Saturday (April 26).
30TH ANNIVERSARY — The Waves will go for their sixth NCAA men’s volleyball title during the 30th anniversary season of their first championship. The 1978 squad, led by then-second year coach Marv Dunphy, went 21-4 and defeated UCLA in the finals.
SINGLE-SEASON RECORD BOOK — On Pepperdine’s single-season records list from the rally-scoring era (2001-present), 2008 entries are as follows ... Paul Carroll is first in kills per game (6.48), third in service aces per game (0.52), seventh in kills (447), tied for seventh in service aces (36), tied for ninth in points (515.5) and 10th in attempts (813) ... Jonathan Winder is fifth in assists (1,251), sixth in digs per game (1.97), seventh in digs (197) ... Sean Grubbs is ninth in digs per game (1.90), 10th in digs (190) ... Mark Hulse is eighth in blocks (141) and ninth in blocks per game (1.41).
MORE ON SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS — Paul Carroll’s 6.48 kills per game isn’t just on pace to set a Pepperdine single-season record in the rally-scoring era (breaking his own record of 5.60 set last season), but including the sideout-scoring era, it’s on pace to be the fifth-best mark in school history.
MPSF STATS — The Waves rank second in the MPSF in blocks (3.25), third in service aces (1.45), third in hitting percentage (.316), seventh in assists (14.03), seventh in kills (14.77), eighth in opponent hitting percentage (.276) and 11th in digs (8.83) ... Paul Carroll ranks first in kills (6.48) and points (7.47), second in service aces (0.52) and seventh in hitting percentage (.405) ... Jonathan Winder ranks fourth in assists (12.51) ... Mark Hulse ranks fourth in blocks (1.41).
WINDER — Senior setter Jonathan Winder (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) was the 2007 AVCA and MPSF Player of the Year and is a four-time All-American. He is one of just eight players ever to earn four-time AVCA All-American honors (Winder was on the first team twice and the second team twice). He was named to the 2008 All-MPSF first team (his second time on the first team and his fourth time earning all-conference honors). He is averaging 12.51 assists per game along with 1.97 digs, 0.91 blocks and 0.68 kills. Winder has seven assist-dig double-doubles this season. He set the school career record for assists on Jan. 19 at Stanford and now has 5,019 in his four seasons. He’s also fourth at Pepperdine in career digs (643). He was named Pepperdine’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2007-08. He helped the U.S. to a bronze medal at the 2007 World University Games.
CARROLL — Junior opposite Paul Carroll (Forster, Australia) has earned All-American first team and All-MPSF first team honors for the second straight year. He played in the first two matches this season before unfortunately suffering a fractured right (non-hitting) hand during an off-court mishap. He missed four weeks before returning on Feb. 13. Pepperdine is 13-5 with Carroll in the lineup and 3-5 without him. The nation’s top hitter is averaging 6.48 kills, 1.36 digs, 0.88 blocks and 0.52 aces and is hitting .405. He had season highs of 33 kills in back-to-back matches against Pacific (March 29) and USC (April 5). He has had at least 20 kills in 14 of his 18 matches (including nine in a row) and has been in double-figures every time. On Pepperdine’s all-time lists, Carroll ranks seventh in service aces (119), eighth in kills (1,390) and eighth in points (1,644.5). A member of Australia’s national team, he was one of the top players at the 2007 World Cup in Japan and hopes to play in the 2008 Olympics (Australia’s qualifying tournament is May 31-June 8).
SCHLEPPENBACH — Besides Winder and Carroll, Pepperdine’s only other returning starter from 2007 is junior outside hitter J.D. Schleppenbach (Ventura, Calif./Ventura HS). He was second on the team in kills last season (2.73 per game) and has upped his production to 2.93 kills per game. He’s also averaging 1.40 digs per game. He had a career-high 23 kills and recorded his first double-double of the season with 12 digs in the MPSF Tournament final against BYU in the MPSF Tournament final on April 26. Schleppenbach was named to the All-MPSF Tournament team after averaging 3.33 kills, 2.00 digs, 0.83 blocks and 0.42 aces. He was named Pepperdine University’s "Wave of the Year" for 2007-08 for community service and school spirit.
RIECKS — Freshman outside hitter Cory Riecks (Auburn, Calif./Placer HS) is averaging 3.23 kills (second on the team) and 1.08 digs. He had a season-high 24 kills at UCLA on Feb. 9. He has reached double-figure kills in 16 matches.
HULSE — Junior Mark Hulse (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township HS) was actually the starting setter at Rutgers-Newark last season, but was converted to middle blocker after transferring to Pepperdine. He is averaging 1.41 blocks and 0.63 kills. He has had season highs of nine blocks (at Pacific on Jan. 18) and five kills (vs. UCSB on Jan. 9 and vs. Long Beach State on Feb. 13).
JAYNES — Freshman middle blocker Tyler Jaynes (Granite Bay, Calif./Granite Bay HS) is averaging 1.39 kills and 1.11 blocks and is hitting .500 in his limited swings. He hit .875 (14-0-16) with a season-high 14 kills against California Baptist on March 22 and had a season-high 10 blocks at UC Santa Barbara on March 15.
GRUBBS — Sophomore libero Sean Grubbs (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) led Irvine Valley College to the state title last season, then transferred to Pepperdine. He is averaging 1.90 digs with a season-high 14 at Stanford on Jan. 19. He has had double-figure digs six times, most recently with 12 against BYU in the MPSF Tournament final (April 26).
McKEE — During the stretch that Paul Carroll was injured, that opened up a spot on the floor for junior outside hitter Matt McKee (Aurora, Ill./Aurora West HS), who didn’t see much court time the last two seasons. He continues to come off the bench at times. McKee is averaging 2.63 kills, 1.23 digs and 0.82 blocks. He had career highs of 21 kills in back-to-back matches against UC Irvine (Jan. 23) and UCLA (Jan. 25).
LIEBERT — A player who saw limited time his first two seasons but has been in the lineup at various points in 2008 is junior middle blocker Eric Liebert (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School). Liebert is averaging 1.40 kills and 1.19 blocks. He had a career-high 10 kills at USC on Feb. 29.
2008 HONORS — Jonathan Winder and Paul Carroll were named All-American first teamers and to the All-MPSF first team ... Winder, Carroll and J.D. Schleppenbach were named to the All-MPSF Tournament team ... Carroll was named AVCA and co-MPSF Player of the Week on Jan. 14, and AVCA Player of the Week again on April 21 ... Winder was named MPSF Player of the Week on Jan. 21 and AVCA Player of the Week on April 28 ... Cory Riecks was named co-MPSF Player of the Week on Feb. 18.
WINDER UP FOR AWARD — Jonathan Winder was one of three finalists for College Male Athlete of the Year in the 2008 Southern California Sports Awards, presented by 710 ESPN Radio. The other nominees were Sedrick Ellis (USC football) and Arron Afflalo (UCLA basketball). Ellis won the award at the April 4 ceremony.
MARV DUNPHY — Now in his 25th season as head coach of the Waves, Marv Dunphy heads into the NCAA Championships with a career record of 468-183 (.719). He has directed the team to four national championships, each in a different decade (1978, 1985, 1992, 2005). He was the 2005 National Coach of the Year and is a three-time MPSF Coach of the Year. Dunphy also was an extremely successful head coach of the U.S. National Team in the 1980s and led the team to a gold medal at the 1988 Olympics.
CHANGING COACHES — Assistant coach Craig Choate resigned in late March to become the head women’s coach at Northern Arizona. In stepped Rod Wilde as an assistant coach and Gary Sato as a volunteer assistant coach for the final weeks of the season. Wilde played on the 1978 championship team and was the head coach of the 1986 championship team. Sato, a former Pepperdine women’s volleyball head coach, was also a volunteer coach in 2005, the last time Pepperdine won the title.
PEPPERDINE HISTORY — Pepperdine has won five NCAA championships, second only to UCLA. The Waves have won the MPSF Tournament four times and have won or shared nine regular-season conference titles, including four of the last seven MPSF crowns. Pepperdine heads into the NCAA Tournament with an all-time record of 632-280 (.693).
