MALIBU, California – As the Pepperdine men's volleyball team celebrates its 50th season in 2020, the Waves will be putting out an All-Decade team and a list of Marv Dunphy's unsung heroes from each decade. Here are the selections for the first decade of Pepperdine volleyball, the 1970s.
 
Dunphy has been associated with the program from almost the beginning. He transferred into Pepperdine in 1971-72 and played with the Waves for two seasons – the second and third teams in Pepperdine history. He then became an assistant coach before taking over as head coach ahead of the 1977 season. He was the head coach for a total of 34 seasons before stepping down after the 2017 campaign.


 
All-1970s Team
 
Setter: Rod Wilde (1976-77-78-79)
Fort Dodge, Iowa ... 1977, 1978 and 1979 All-American ... 1978 NCAA All-Tournament team ... Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame inductee.
Marv says: "He was a great get. Setters had come before him who were good, but Rod was the most highly sought after setter. It was a coup to get him. We've had some great setters here but none, I think, better or greater than Rod. There was volleyball in his blood. Even today he could tell you what he set and how it went on any of those teams. He was probably the biggest volleyball rat of all and I mean that in an affectionate way."
 
Opposite: Larry Vocke (1971-72)
Hermosa Beach, Calif. ... 1971 and 1972 All-American.
Marv says: "He was probably our first good big player. The coach, Moo Park, would tell the setter, even if Larry was getting almost all of the sets, if somebody else didn't put it away at a critical time, he'd call timeout and say, "Why don't you set Larry." We don't have much in the way of numbers from the time but he carried a huge load."
 
Outside Hitter: Mark Rigg (1976-77-78-79)
Honolulu, Hawai'i ... 1977 All-American.
Marv says: "He has a special place in my heart along with the entire Rigg family. He was just a tiger. A very, very intense player and would always rise to the occasion. Probably hit the heaviest ball of anyone from that era, along with Mike Blanchard. When I would watch videotape, you'd hear the normal pop when anyone else hit, and a much louder pop when Mark Rigg hit. He was okay at the other skills but a fabulous hitter and a great teammate."
 
Outside Hitter: Jay Anderson (1976-77-78-79)
Waialae Kahala, Hawai'i ... 1977, 1978 and 1979 All-American ... 1978 NCAA All-Tournament team.
Marv says: "In the recruiting process I only saw him warm up with the Outrigger Canoe team with a bunch of older guys, I didn't see him play high school or club. I just saw him pepper and warm up. It wasn't a gamble because you could see he could pass, was really quick and had a lightning arm. He was tough."
 
Middle Blocker: Mike Blanchard (1977-78-79)
Newport Beach, Calif. ... 1978 and 1979 All-American ... 1978 NCAA Tournament MVP.
Marv says: "He, more than any other player I coached, made the biggest improvement from one year to the next. In 1977 he was a good player and a good athlete. Over the summer he made himself into a really good volleyball player. He blocked middle and hit some right side for us. He was the guy when you needed to hear the right thing, you heard it from him. He added a real physical presence to the team. A heart of the champion and very supportive of the program."
 
Middle Blocker: Ted Dodd (1973-74-75-76)
Manhattan Beach, Calif. ... 1975 and 1976 All-American ... 1976 NCAA All-Tournament team ... Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame inductee.
Marv says: "He was part of a recruiting class with three great players and he matured into the best of the lot. He played with Team USA. He would hit outside on serve/receive, and block middle. We weren't very deep and he had to be good at a couple of positions. He played a huge, huge role. We don't have the numbers from that era but he would probably get 70, 80, 90 swings a match."
 
Utility: Peter Balding (1978-79-80-81)
Honolulu, Hawai'i
Marv says: "Peter is probably pound-for-pound as good a volleyball player I've ever coached. If I ever wanted to win a match, I'd put Peter in as a back-row specialist or serving sub. He would go in and the guys wouldn't hold their hands out because he would high-five them too hard. He was one of the keys to our success."
 
Utility: Jeff Jordan (1974-75)
Manhattan Beach, Calif. ... 1974 All-American.
Marv says: "When he was being recruited he was probably a little better on the beach than he was indoor, and he was a little undersized as a middle, but we needed him there. He played lots of different roles. He had good skills. You always wanted a player with at least two skills and he had multiple."


 
Marv Dunphy's Unsung Heroes of the 1970s
 
Mike Bekins (player, 1973-76)
Marv says: "Mike, along with Ted Dodd and Steve Barratt, they were Southern California high school players of the year, and they came in and were the nucleus of the program in those years. Mike has since started an endowed scholarship that does fabulous things for the program. He's co-Godfather of my daughter Alex and a life-long friend."
 
Mike Bettinghouse (player, 1971-73)
Marv says: "He was a Marine in Vietnam, so we shared a common bond. He was a middle blocker and his best skill was passing. He was an all-around player. I think he was the key to the start of creating the Pepperdine volleyball culture. He was an older guy, like myself, with a bunch of new guys. He was real mature, real solid to the core."
 
George Brakel (player, 1971)
Marv says: "He was a setter on the first team. He was the first player to get a men's volleyball scholarship. A leader, a really good all-around player, and good on the beach. He was one of the originals."
 
Gary Colson
Marv says: "He was the basketball coach at the time. It's great when any coaches are supportive of each other, but to have the men's basketball coach at a school like Pepperdine be so supportive of another sport, it was just a huge shot in the arm. He's always been loyal to me personally and to men's volleyball."
 
Walter Glass
Marv says: "Walter, in addition to being chair of the PE department, was also athletic director at that very first meeting in 1970 where they added men's volleyball. We probably wouldn't be where we are today if it wasn't for Walter. I'm forever grateful for that decision."
 
Wes Lee
Marv says: "He did some stats and scouted opponents. He had a Chinese saying for everything. Whether it was a story about a fish or whatever, he related it back to an individual on the team, or the team, in a really neat way. He was a very wise person to have around the program."
 
Keith McFarland
Marv says: "He was an undergrad and he was our trainer even though he was not certified as a trainer. We went to the NCAAs with him. Trainers tend to be, for me anyway, the psychologist of the team. That was certainly the case with him. He knew how to tape an ankle, but he also knew how to lead or adjust the conversation. To this day, he's the person that keeps the 1978 guys together."
 
Callie Moos
Marv says: "I had seen international volleyball teams playing with long sleeves. When I played here, you had tank tops that they probably got at Thrifty drug store with the rubberized number on the front. I went to Broadway in Topanga Plaza and bought 10 long-sleeve shirts, and Callie did like a Betsy Ross. It was a long-sleeve turtleneck and she cut the neck down and did the trim, white with orange, on the neck. Those have been my favorite uniforms. She and her husband Rick were my neighbors in Topanga Canyon. Rick was a great source of wisdom."
 
Chuck Nelson
Marv says: "Chuck was a 1964 volleyball Olympian. He brought the concept of NCAA men's volleyball at Pepperdine to Walter Glass, Bill Banowsky and Gary Colson. I don't know the mechanics of that, but they saw the potential. He even suggested they hire Moo Park, an Olympic coach from Korea, and they did."
 
Scott Rigg (player, 1977-80)
Marv says: "Here was this team of pretty good guys, including his brother and Rod Wilde and Mike Blanchard and others in the 1970s. But he and his mother Lei gave this program heart. It was just an unbelievable work ethic and tenacity. His nickname was Rooster. He was leading the henhouse. He was a character guy, a glue guy before you even talked about those qualities. He was a key guy even though he didn't start when I was here -- he started after I left -- but he was just as important as any starter in our championship run."
 
Gary Sato
Marv says: "Gary played at UC Santa Barbara but didn't finish there, he actually got his degree here. I had all the respect in the world for him as a player. He was kind of like a volleyball rat with talent who saw the game really well. He had such a great feel for the game and pleasing personality, and so he became my assistant, and then the women's head coach."
 
Bob Thomas
Marv says: "Bob had multiple roles at Pepperdine including dean of students, and was also the vice president who oversaw athletics. He served as athletic director for a year. Volleyball was very much a part-time deal here and he made it into a full-time position right after the 1976 NCAAs, and he talked me into taking the job. He got with Ken Perrin and made it a full-time position. He had a vision, as much as the others, that volleyball could do well at this institution."
 
The Pepperdine men's volleyball program will celebrate the 1970s at this Wednesday's home match against Concordia-Irvine (Wednesday, February 12, 7 p.m.).

1970s Highlight Video:

Marv Dunphy on the 1970s: