In search of its fifth national title in men’s volleyball, Pepperdine will face Lewis in a semifinal round NCAA Championships match on May 1 at The Pyramid in Long Beach beginning at 6 p.m. The second semifinal match will feature Brigham Young against Penn State at approximately 8 p.m. The NCAA title match will be played on Saturday afternoon beginning at 4:30 p.m.
The first semifinal match is scheduled to be televised on a delayed basis on ESPN2 next Friday beginning at 8 a.m. with the second semifinal match to follow at 11 a.m. The championship match will be aired live nationally on ESPN2.
All matches involving Pepperdine will be broadcast live on the Internet via the Pepperdine Athletics Web site.
Despite losing a 25-30, 31-33, 30-28, 32-30, 15-7 decision to Brigham Young recently in the title match of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Tournament at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, the top-ranked Waves earned the lone at-large berth to the four-team NCAA Championships.
Pepperdine will be making its 12th NCAA Championships appearance and its third in the last four seasons. The Waves have won the NCAA title four times, in 1978, 1985, 1986 and 1992, and been the runner-up on five occasions, most recently in 2002. Pepperdine owns an all-time record of 14-7 at the NCAA Championships.
The Waves’ top players include senior middle blocker Brad Keenan, sophomore outside hitter Sean Rooney and junior outside hitter Fred Winters, each of whom earned first team All-MPSF honors this season.
Rooney has collected a team-high total of 459 kills, an average of 4.54 a game, and recorded a .357 hitting percentage. Keenan paces the Waves in several statistical categories, including service aces (43) and total blocks (200). He ranks third on the roster with 303 kills to compliment a .433 hitting mark. Winters has amassed 400 kills along with 28 service aces and 95 total blocks.
Sophomore John Mayer, a transfer from Los Angeles Pierce Community College, has stepped in masterfully to handle the setting chores, while senior Dhiraj Coats is the libero. Freshman Andy Hein starts alongside Keenan at the middle blocker spot, while sophomore Mike Gledhill is the Waves’ third outside hitter.
Pepperdine is hitting .351 as a team and holding its opponents to a .238 attack mark. The Waves have benefited all season from a solid block, winning the battle at the net by a sizeable 375-171.5 margin.
“Our goal at the start of every season is to win the NCAA title, and we have a chance to accomplish that with this group,” said Pepperdine head coach Marv Dunphy. “This year’s team has worked hard to get to this point, and we face a tough challenge on Thursday night against Lewis.”