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 third decade of Pepperdine volleyball, the 1990s, which featured the fourth of Pepperdine's five NCAA titles.
 
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-1990s Team
 
Setter: Chip McCaw (1992-93-94-95)
Tulsa, Okla. ... 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995 All-American ... 1992 NCAA All-Tournament team ... 2000 U.S. Olympian.
Marv says: "One of my joys at Pepperdine was getting to know great parents. In Chip's case, that was Charlie and Peggy McCaw. Peggy played at a high level and coached Chip from day one. He was as fundamentally sound as any player I ever coached. He was one of our first four-time All-Americans and an NCAA champion and Olympian. Chip was a player! He is a great teacher of our game. He is so proud of his son Auden, who is a freshman at Pepperdine and wears number 10 just like his father."
 
Opposite: George Roumain (1996-97-98-99)
Parkland, Fla. ... 1998 and 1999 AVCA National Player of the Year ... 1997, 1998 and 1999 All-American ... 1998 NCAA All-Tournament team ... 1998 and 1999 MPSF Player of the Year ... 2000 U.S. Olympian ... Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame inductee.
Marv says: "The record books do not completely reveal the load that George carried for four years or the impact that he had on our program. In one tight four-set match he had 40-something kills while no teammate was in double-figures. The student body, faculty and staff, and volleyball community would come to our matches just to see George play. When a teammate made a good play or was part of a great rally, George would lift that player in the air and hug the air out of him, including Peter Kodascy, who was a big guy! It was a great day when George said, 'I'm coming to Malibu' and it's still a great day whenever I cross paths with him. George was special!"
 
Outside Hitter: Kevin Barnett (1996-97)
Naperville, Ill. ... 1996 and 1997 All-American ... 2000 and 2004 U.S. Olympian.
Marv says: "In my time with Kevin he really grew as a player and as a person. He started as an opposite, but knew that to fulfill his goal of playing at the Olympics he would have to develop the ability to pass and play outside, and so he did. We might have shared a little magic on how to do things, but he took ownership of his game and became a two-time All-American and a two-time Olympian. He is a wonderful broadcaster and spokesperson for our sport."
 
Outside Hitter: Dain Blanton (1991-92-93-94)
Laguna Beach, Calif. ... 1994 All-American ... 2000 and 2004 U.S. Olympian (beach) ... Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame inductee.
Marv says: "For the most part, where Dain is and where he is going is due to Dain. He has always been focused on what is ahead and how to get there. He came to Pepperdine as a good outside hitter who needed to improve his passing. My three or four keys did little to alter or improve his technique. He sought out Harlan Cohen and they drastically changed his starting position, moving him way up. He became a great passer in '92 and we beat Stanford to win it all. He was a pretty tough kid."
 
Middle Blocker: Tom Sorensen (1990-91-92-93)
Racine, Wis. ... 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993 All-American ... 1990 National Freshman of the Year ... 1992 NCAA All-Tournament team ... 1996 U.S. Olympian ... Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame inductee.
Marv says: "Like a lot of Waves, Tom played a few positions. He was in the middle, then opposite and then played a little outside. He had a golden arm and therefore was a hitting machine. To this day he has never had a sore shoulder. Some young guys are volleyball fans and some are volleyball players, and Tom was both. He watched more video than all of his teammates combined. He keenly observed what the good players did and didn't do and applied what he learned to his game. I can still hear the TV commentators saying, 'Another kill by Sorensen!'"
 
Middle Blocker: Chris Jacobson (1995-96-97-98)
Lake Forest, Calif. ... 1998 All-American.
Marv says: "CJ was long and quick and blocking came easy to him. Chris has to be one of our all-time best blockers, especially for this decade. He is a top chef and he's made a meal for more than 160 Waves over the years. The favorite, at least for me, was the Big Mac salad. What a great personality."
 
Utility: Duane Cameron (1990-91-92-93)
Huntington Beach, Calif. ... 1993 All-American.
Marv says: "Duane was a middle blocker when we won it all in 1992. He played his senior year as an outside hitter and continued to play outside professionally and with USA Volleyball. He was a good all-around player, easy to coach and as feisty as they come."
 
Utility: Greg Vernovage (1991-92-93-94-95)
Susquehanna, Pa.
Marv says: "By Greg's senior year, he was well-skilled and a starter, but he helped us the most when he was on the second team. He pushed, poked and prodded anyone who needed to raise their level of play in training. He could dish it out, but also could and would take it. Needless to say, players did not sniffle, whine or make excuses on a Vern team. When he led climbs up Mount Everest, I'm sure he had a similar philosophy."


 
Marv Dunphy's Unsung Heroes of the 1990s
 
Lee Kats
Marv says: "What an impact Lee has had on me, my family, men's volleyball and this university. He has been like a brother to me. For years he helped our staff and teams by keeping in-match stats via the Data Volley program. He is known world-wide as an expert in animal behavior. He also knows human behavior. I valued his insights every step of the way and players still seek him out for personal and professional advice. I enjoyed overhearing players brag about Lee, mostly because they were right!"
 
Rick McLaughlin
Marv says: "Rick had two great coaching stints with our program. When Rick assisted us in 1992 we only had one setter on the team, Chip McCaw. In practice Rick set for the second team and he and Dijon Douphner would terrorize the starters with speed everywhere. Rick joined us again in 2005. We had talent, but struggled early on to identify a lineup with our six best athletes on the floor at the same time. We went with Rick's suggestion to have John Mayer as a passing opposite and once again with Rick we won it all."
 
J.J. Riley (player, 1995-99)
Marv says: "J.J. was a great setter on several good teams in the late '90s. Hitters loved playing with him because he located exactly what they liked to hit. I enjoyed seeing the working relationship J.J. had with setting coach Harlan Cohen. Along with Cram, Wilde and McCaw, J.J. was one of Harlan's boys. He was tough. One fall while playing Ohio State he told me, 'I tweaked my knee while pursuing a ball.' He played the rest of the match with a completely torn ACL."
 
Charlie and Amy Jo Runnels
Marv says: "I have so much respect for what Charlie and Amy Jo did for Pepperdine Athletics and Pepperdine University, and the way they did it, always with class. Even when Charlie would scold me for missing too many serves, he did it with class. I think Charlie enjoyed beating USC, UCLA and Stanford even more than our team did. He was a Wave through and through and so is Amy Jo."
 
Dr. John Watson
Marv says: "I always admired John for the many significant roles that he performed at the university and his link to the L.A. campus. During his tenure as Athletic Director his office door was always open. As a colleague and as a friend, I took advantage of that ... usually at 6 a.m. Toward the end of my tenure as the head coach for our Olympic team, I invited John Wooden to speak at our annual USA banquet. For a few days Dr. Watson did all the logistics that enabled Coach Wooden to be with us in San Diego. Coach Wooden said it best: 'Marv, you are lucky to work with an individual like John Watson!' We all were."
 
Gary and Susan Wilcox
Marv says: "Both Gary and Susan were volleyball players. I crossed paths with them in the early '70s but did not really know them until they moved into the Malibu Country Estates in the '90s. Their two young children, John and David, were loyal ball boys for us. So loyal, in fact, that if we were losing, they would not give the ball to the opponents' server. Often, their parents had to walk them and the ball to the server. It was classic. For years they have made fabulous financial contributions to our program. Every year they play in our golf tournament and it is a thing of beauty to see Susan hit a golf ball."
 
Kevin Wright (player, 1993-94)
Marv says: "In my office, I have team photos for most of the 50 seasons of Pepperdine men's volleyball. Kevin is in a bunch of these photos, first as a player and then as our athletic trainer. He looks exactly the same as he did in 1993! For sure, he is the same quality person that he has always been. He continues to do great work for all of our athletic teams."
 
The Pepperdine men's volleyball program will celebrate the 1990s at this Wednesday's home match against Jamestown (Wednesday, March 11, 7 p.m.).