In Front of What They Hope Is a Parade : Volleyball: Pepperdine has three black players in a sport that has been virtually exclusive to whites in U.S. men’s competition.

Pepperdine enjoys a place in men’s volleyball history as one of only four schools to have won an NCAA championship since the sport gained varsity status in 1970.

And today at UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center, Pepperdine will try to take a step toward its fourth NCAA title when the Waves play Cal State Northridge in the first round of the Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. tournament.

But regardless of how it fares in the WIVA tournament, which will determine two participants in next week’s final four at Honolulu, Pepperdine has made history of sorts by virtue of the team’s racial make-up.

Senior George Thompson and freshmen Dain Blanton and Jon Baer, all of whom are black, are among the 15 players on the Pepperdine roster. Their presence is significant for a sport that in the United States--particularly on the West Coast--has been almost exclusively white at the men’s high school, college and national team levels.

“If more black athletes come into this sport, they’ll change it,” said Thompson, echoing the opinion of many people in the volleyball community. “Just as basketball is being played above the rim, the ball will be played more above the level of the net. There will be more quick sets and combinations. It will be more spontaneous.”

Few, however, anticipate that the next Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson will choose volleyball. Basketball, football, baseball and track offer more opportunities for men at the collegiate level and greater financial rewards at the professional level. Lack of childhood exposure to volleyball and the perception that it is only played by women and on the beach also handicap the sport.

“I hope having the three kids here will be a plus to the black athlete to say, ‘Hey, I can get a scholarship in volleyball,’ ” said Pepperdine Coach Marv Dunphy, who guided the gold-medal winning 1988 Olympic team and the Waves’ 1978 and 1985 national championship teams. “But I haven’t consciously promoted that.

“We recruited those guys because we needed good players at their positions, and they fit our needs.”

Women’s volleyball has produced many outstanding black players, among them the late Flo Hyman, Rita Crockett and Keba Phipps. Natalie Williams, a sophomore at UCLA, was chosen college player of the year this season after leading the Bruins to the national championship. And five members of the U.S. national women’s team are black, including four starters.

Women’s volleyball, however, is played at 721 NCAA schools. It is considered a major sport and alloted the equivalent of 12 scholarships.

Only 58 NCAA schools field men’s volleyball teams on the intercollegiate level with half of the 24 Division I teams on the West Coast. Schools are allowed a maximum of five scholarships, and in 1993 they will be reduced to 4 1/2.

Marc Jones, a 6-foot-5 outside hitter who played one season at San Diego State, is only the third black player to play for the men’s national team and the first since 1980.

Second-ranked Cal State Long Beach, San Diego State and Cal State Northridge each have one black player this season. The other WIVA teams have none. Al Scates, who has coached UCLA to 13 NCAA championships in 28 seasons, recalled only one black player who played briefly for the Bruins. Top-ranked USC, the defending national champion, has had several foreign players, but no blacks.

Last weekend at the California Volleyball Tournament of Champions, 55 boys’ teams converged upon UCLA for a day-long competitive event. Only a few of the more than 600 participants were black.

“Some people at school ask me, ‘Why are you playing volleyball? It’s the white boys’ sport,’ ” said Matt Carpenter, a senior at Fresno Edison. “If they saw what was going on, that it’s a physical game, they’d become more involved.”

Coaches say exposing young black athletes to volleyball is difficult because few junior high schools teach the sport anymore. In addition, athletes involved in other sports--especially basketball--are encouraged to specialize and practice year-round.

Marvin Hall, who is black, coaches the San Fernando Valley Volleyball Club, which has teams at the youth and high school levels and has produced several outstanding women’s players. Hall started a boys’ program five years ago, but participation by black athletes has been minimal.

“By the time a lot of kids of all races get to the point where they discover the sport is great, it’s too late for them to compete,” University Coach Neal Newman said.

Many of those who do show an interest become discouraged and lose their enthusiasm when some of volleyball’s passing skills prove difficult.

“Girls don’t have the macho thing,” said Myra Einberg, who coaches the boys’ and girls’ volleyball teams at Venice High. “Girls who are really good in another sport come out for volleyball and play JV for a year and that’s OK. But the boys think they can’t play JV because it’s not good for their image.”

Of Pepperdine’s three black players, only Baer took up the game late in high school, after participating in track.

“I just started hitting the ball around,” he said. “Before I knew it, I was having a lot of fun.”

Blanton, a 6-3 outside hitter, was an All-Southern Section basketball and volleyball player at Laguna Beach High. He chose a volleyball scholarship to Pepperdine over several offers to small schools for basketball.

“I learned playing (volleyball) on the beach, and that’s where I want to go from here,” he said.

Thompson grew up in Minnesota. His father coached girls’ volleyball teams and has written two books on the sport. But Thompson did not consider volleyball a viable sport for himself until his father took him to watch the U.S. national team play a match against Cuba, which had several black players.

“I had never seen black people play before then,” said Thompson, who became Pepperdine’s first black player when he arrived in Malibu in 1987. “Everyone was going, ‘USA, USA!’ and I was thinking, ‘Hey, those guys playing for Cuba are pretty good.’

“I got that positive reinforcement. That’s what everybody needs, no matter what race they are, to be successful.”

Others believe that volleyball’s appeal will grow, especially outside California, once someone is able to break the state’s stranglehold on the national championship. UCLA, USC, Pepperdine and San Diego State are the only schools that have won titles.

“There will be more people of all races coming out as soon as a non-West Coast team wins nationals,” said David Muir, a black middle blocker for Penn State, which has been to the final four six times. “People will say, ‘Hey, it’s competitive, it’s not just dominated by two or three teams.”

The growing popularity and prize money on the professional beach tour and in Europe is also expected to generate more interest. This year, more than $2.6 million is available on the beach.

“I don’t think they know they can make any money playing volleyball,” said Scates. “If they knew Karch Kiraly was going to make over $1 million this year, that could be a factor (in choosing a sport).”

Whatever their impetus for taking up volleyball, more involvement from black athletes, coaches and players agree will translate into excitement for their sport.

Thompson, Baer, Blanton and Jones believe they have laid the foundation for others to build upon.

“When I first joined the national team, I didn’t realize that I was a role model for people,” Jones said. “But after traveling last year, I realized I was. (Black) parents who were surprised to see a black player came up to me with their kids. They asked me how I got started.

“Hopefully, some of those kids will pick up the game and help to make a difference.”