Tanner Adds His Own Sparkle to Jewel of Pepperdine Sports

If asked to name the jewel of the sports programs at Pepperdine University, a school with more than modest success in basketball, water polo, tennis and baseball, one might think first of its volleyball team.

And with good reason.

The team won a national championship in 1978 and back-to-back titles the past two seasons.

The Pepperdine volleyball teams are obviously talented, but they usually have been led by a superstar, a player the others rally around.

That player now is Troy Tanner but he’s paid his dues to get there.

During Tanner’s first two years at Malibu, the Waves were loaded with talent. As a freshman during the 1983 season, Tanner, then a setter, watched Jeff Stork, in the last of three straight years of All-American standing, hold center stage.

In the 1985 season (Tanner was on a Mormon mission in 1984), Pepperdine won the national crown behind NCAA player of the year, Bob Ctvrtlik. The Waves were 25-2, and although Tanner was beginning to emerge as a force, he was still just another player on a team of stars.

Tanner watched, learned and waited.

Stardom came last season when Tanner was a junior and his all-around play at the outside hitter position led many to call him the best player in the college ranks. He was an All-American last year, and he’s considered a favorite to make the 1988 U.S. Olympic team.

And he led Pepperdine to its second straight title in 1986.

“Although we had four All-Americans on our team last year, I think it’s safe to say that Troy is our leader,” said Rod Wilde, now in his second season as coach of the Waves. “Overall, we rely on Troy. He’s just a standout; he does everything well, from blocking to hitting to setting.”

Tall and lean (6-4, 200 pounds), Tanner is big and strong enough to spike one down his competitors’ throats, yet graceful and smart enough to play a game of finesse.

Like a quarterback in football, Tanner directs his teammates on the floor, although he never yells. He is the perfect example of that sports cliche, the “quiet leader.”

“I try to lead by example,” he said. “I don’t have to go out and yell and scream--we have guys like Matt (Rigg) and Rob (Scott) to do that. I know that if I just do my job, the guys will respect that, and hopefully follow me.”

“He’s a great inspiration to our team because he’s such a good player,” Rigg said. “He doesn’t have to be that vocal. Being the only setter on the team, I know that if I have a problem, I can go to him and he’ll put the ball away.”

Tanner, now a senior, hopes to match last year’s success when he had 305 kills and a .352 hitting mark.

When the season ends, Tanner will begin tryouts for the Olympic team. He trained with the U.S. National Team last summer, traveling to Russia for the Goodwill Games. The coach of the U.S. team, Marv Dunphy, was Pepperdine’s coach until Wilde took over last season. Dunphy recruited Tanner to Pepperdine.

“There was just one spot open to go to Russia,” Tanner said. “Thirty guys tried out, and the day before we left Dunphy said, ‘OK, Tanner, you’re in.’ It was a great feeling, because I felt I played the best of the guys he brought in.

“I didn’t play a whole lot, and I knew I wouldn’t. I expected to sit on the bench. But the best thing was just playing with these guys. I learned a lot.”

Stork, starting center on the U.S. team, said Tanner “will help the national team, whether it be in ’88 or ’92. Troy’s a great volleyball player.”

Tanner’s success began when he chose Pepperdine as his college.

“Going to Pepperdine was an easy decision, because I liked the coach and the area,” Tanner said. “Plus, my dad wanted me to go there. The only other school that was interested in me was UCLA. I wasn’t a big name coming out of high school.”

As a part-time starter as a freshman, Tanner was named a second team All-American. But his volleyball career was put on hold after that first year when he left on an 18-month Mormon mission to Japan.

His parents, very supportive of his volleyball playing, weren’t worried about what 18 months would do to his skills.

“We knew what kind of mental ability he had, so we knew he’d get his physical ability back as soon as he returned,” said his mother, Lucille.

Tanner’s father was the volleyball coach at La Serna High in Whittier until he retired this season. It was Rolf Tanner who got his son interested in the sport.

The 1986 season began well for Pepperdine. In his first season, Wilde led the team to 12 straight victories to open the year. Tanner missed eight games because of foot surgery and Pepperdine was 4-4 in those games.

When he returned, things got back to normal for the team. The Waves beat Hawaii and UCLA in the West Regional and Tanner was named most valuable player. But in the final four, Tanner slumped, although his team still beat Penn State and USC to capture the crown.

“Troy played one of his worst matches of the year in the finals,” Wilde said. “And he realized it. But when it came down to crunch time, he was setting the offense, and he ran off the last four points over USC for the win.

“I know things will be the same this year. He’s going to go out and be Troy Tanner, dominating the front court and the back court. He’ll be even a bigger part of our attack this year because he’ll be hitting out of the back court more.

“If Troy has a weakness, it’s putting too much pressure on himself. He has such high expectations that if something goes wrong he blames himself. He takes too much responsibility on himself, but if that’s a weakness, it’s a pretty minor one.”

Amid such praise, Tanner doesn’t like to say much about himself. He is quiet, a little shy and would prefer to talk about his team and coach.

Tanner, however, will admit that making the Olympic team is one of his top priorities. But first, there’s a third straight championship to be won at Malibu.

“We don’t feel that we’ve done all that we can do,” Tanner said. “We want that third one, and we feel pretty good about the season.”

And Pepperdine feels pretty good knowing Tanner is there to lead the charge.