If the Pepperdine men’s volleyball team has any of the same character traits or resolve that Parker Kalmbach possesses, then the 2013-14 season could have the makings of something special.
Two years removed from suffering a career-threatening spinal injury, Kalmbach is playing the best volleyball of his young life for Pepperdine. Coincidentally, the Waves are 3-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country.
But a little more than two years ago, no one could have seen this day coming.
On Aug. 13, 2011, Kalmbach was competing in a tournament at Manhattan Beach when his future in volleyball was suddenly placed in extreme doubt.
After following through on a powerful right-handed swing that drove the ball into the sand, Kalmbach felt a searing pain in his back that would ground him for more than a year from playing the sport he loved.
Two months after the injury and still suffering pain, Kalmbach was referred to board-certified spine surgeon Hooman Melamed, M.D., whose patients include some of the world’s best athletes.
Melamed ran Kalmbach through a gamut of examinations including x-rays, MRI, CAT scan and blood tests. Results concluded that Kalmbach suffered a small fracture and a herniated disc in his lower back at the L5-S1 vertebrae.
Five months after the injury, Kalmbach underwent minimally invasive spine surgery in December 2011 that involved making a small quarter-sized incision in his lower back.
Melamed carefully traversed microscopic tools around tissue and bone to the injured area, removing the damaged disc, bone fragments and clearing the area of any scar tissue build-up.
It was performed as an outpatient procedure and Kalmbach was able to stand up and go home the same day. Following three months of physical therapy and soft tissue work with a spine specialist that helped strengthen his lower back, Kalmbach was quickly on the road to recovery.
Kalmbach, 21, redshirted his sophomore year for Pepperdine and returned last season. As a middle blocker for the Waves in 2013, he averaged a team-high 1.23 blocks, which ranked fifth in the league and ninth in the NCAA. His efforts earned him honorable mention all-league honors for the Mountain Pacific Sports League (MPSF), the conference in which Pepperdine’s volleyball team competes.
Two years after the injury, Kalmbach is stronger, faster and more athletic that he has ever been. As a freshman, he weighed 170 pounds. Since then, he has put on plenty of muscle mass to his 220-pound frame. His vertical jump has increased six inches in two seasons.
Kalmbach’s return to the court has put a smile on the face of his surgeon.
“I am so happy for him. This is priceless,”
Melamed said proudly. “When I see a patient get back to this type of level, it’s better than winning the lottery.
I get goose bumps talking about it. It brings the ultimate happiness to me. There is nothing in the world that can replace these moments.”
His coach is also impressed.
“He had a pretty serious back injury. I remember when he was a skinny little kid in my camp. Now he’s one of the biggest, baddest guys in the jungle,” Pepperdine coach Marv Dunphy said. “He’s a big strong kid. He’s taken his fitness, health, strength and volleyball really seriously. Where he is now is due to who he is. He wants to be a good player and all coaches want to coach guys like him.”
Prior to this season, Kalmbach asked Dunphy to move him to opposite hitter so he could “produce more results” for the Waves. It hasn’t taken long for the results to show.
In Pepperdine’s 26-28, 25-22, 25-22, 26-24 victory on the road at USC last week, Kalmbach recorded a triple-double with 11 kills, a career-high 13 digs and tied his all-time best with 10 blocks. It is just the fourth triple-double by any MPSF player since the 2007 season.
A week earlier in the season opener at Firestone Fieldhouse, Kalmbach produced a career-high 18 kills in a 25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19 win against two-time defending NCAA champion, UC Irvine.
“I was really happy because I always wanted to play volleyball at Pepperdine,” Kalmbach said. “Having surgery and having that injury probably was good for me because I found people who really showed me how to put myself in a better position for athletics. I can’t thank Dr. Melamed enough and Marv Dunphy for being there for me.”
What once was a frightening injury has paved the way for a blossoming star on the rise. Kalmbach’s spirited recovery has coincided with Pepperdine’s resurgence as a national power.
With Kalmbach playing at the top of his game, it’s only fitting that the Waves are atop the national rankings for the first time since March 7, 2010.
