The Pepperdine University men’s volleyball team concluded the home portion of its schedule with an emphatic 25-23, 25-19, 25-21 victory against UC San Diego last Saturday on Senior Night at Firestone Fieldhouse. With the win, the Waves clinched a berth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation post-season tournament.
“We won the first set but made too many errors,” Pepperdine Coach Marv Dunphy said. “We cut down on those, learned their tendencies and were able to score some points. You want to be playing good when you get there and I think we are playing pretty well.”
Seniors Matt Pollock and Chase Ross led the way as Pepperdine, ranked #6 in the country, improved its all-time record vs. the Tritons to 40-3. Pollock, a 6’9” middle blocker, contributed a game-high seven blocks to go along with five kills. Ross added eight kills and four blocks of his own as the Waves improved to 14-12 overall and 9-11 in MPSF action.
“That was a pretty crucial win for us,” Pollock said. “It solidified us getting into the tournament and anything can happen when you get into the playoffs.”
UC San Diego, ranked 11th in the country, entered the match having won five of their last six matches, including five straight wins for the first time since 1990. Pepperdine, meanwhile, came into the match two days after enduring a tough five-set loss to No. 2 UC Irvine.
The first set featured 11 ties and six lead changes. UC San Diego (8-18, 6-15) jumped out to a 19-17 advantage when the Waves’ Matt Tarantino and Ross combined for back-to-back kills to tie the set at 19 apiece. Another kill by Ross down the left sideline broke a 21-21 tie and propelled Pepperdine to the first-set victory.
“We have a few games left and we knew we had to get a win to get a good seeding going into the tournament,” said Ross, a 6’4” opposite hitter who ranks second on the team with a 2.5 kills-per-set average. “We came out with some fire and played the best that we could.”
Pepperdine connected on 33 of its 41 kills during the second and third sets combined, including a blistering .519 hitting percentage in the final set.
The Waves finish their regular season with matches at Cal State Northridge on April 12 and at Long Beach State on April 14. The MPSF tournament begins on April 21.
For seniors Pollock and Ross, it’s been a great experience playing for Pepperdine and one of the game’s legendary coaches.
“I was thinking about it all day,” Pollock said. “My last game in Malibu. It was a beautiful day outside and I was just trying to soak it all in. It was a blessing to play here at Pepperdine all these years.”
“This has been the best experience of my life by far,” Ross said. “Being able to play for such a great coach like Marv [Dunphy] has been an honor and to be able to play with such a great group of guys has been incredible. Marv has always said ‘Anything you do, do it as well as you can.’ We will continue to play our best.”
Dunphy has been at the helm at Pepperdine for 29 years. He has directed the Waves to four NCAA Championships, each in a different decade (1978, 1985, 1992, 2005). What has meant the most to him has been the relationships he has formed with all his former and current players.
“What I have learned through my career is that it’s a lifelong relationship,” Dunphy said. “I will have an impact upon them and they will have an influence on me. Their disappointments are my disappointments and their joys are my joys.
“Matt and Chase led by example and not too much rah-rah. They did things right. You just have to make sure the people you are leading are actually following you and I think our guys did.”