Pepperdine, on Brink of Loss, Beats USC in Volleyball Final

Defending champion Pepperdine, only one point from defeat, rallied to beat No. 1-rated USC in the championship game of the NCAA men’s volleyball tournament Saturday night at Penn State.

The scores were 7-15, 15-13, 15-11, 5-15, 16-14. It was the second straight year Pepperdine had beaten USC in the final.

In the fifth game, USC was leading, 14-12, and was serving for the match when Pepperdine got a side out. The Waves then won four straight points to take the match. The game-winning point came on a block by Mark Arnold.

The Waves were led by Steve Friedman, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player. He had 38 spikes. Matt Rigg, who had 32 spikes, also made the all-tournament team, as did Rob Scott for the Waves.

USC also placed three players on the all-tournament team--Rudy Dvorak, Adam Johnson and Dave Yoder.

Pepperdine, which lost twice to USC during the regular season, wound up 22-7. USC finished 27-2. The Trojans had won 27 straight matches after losing their opener to UCLA.

The NCAA title was the third for the Waves in volleyball. They also won in 1978.

Said Rod Wilde, Pepperdine’s first-year coach: “Our backs were against the wall when USC was serving for the match, but our team has never quit all season and they staged a memorable comeback.”