COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS : Waves Play Stanford in the Finals

After Pepperdine survived the first game of a semifinal match against Penn State at the NCAA men’s volleyball championships, one got the feeling the Waves were in pretty good shape.

Top-seeded Pepperdine didn’t seem worthy of the designation in the early going before 5,711 Friday at Ball State’s University Arena. But the Waves collected themselves for a 17-16, 15-4, 15-9 victory over Penn State in advancing to tonight’s championship game.

Pepperdine (23-4) will face Stanford, a 15-11, 15-11, 11-15, 13-15, 15-10 winner over Indiana-Purdue-Ft. Wayne in the other semifinal match.

Pepperdine will be playing in its seventh NCAA title game. It has won three, the last in 1986.

Pepperdine had won all six games in two victories over fourth-seeded Penn State earlier this season.

The Nittany Lions led, 13-10, in the first game Friday and had the momentum, but nifty passing by the Waves, combined with several unforced errors by Penn State, proved to be the difference.

With game tied, 16-16, outside hitter Alon Grinberg delivered the game-winning kill that just touched the backline.

“We haven’t played in a while (since April 15), and we just weren’t in a very good groove in the beginning,” Pepperdine Coach Marv Dunphy said. “After that first game, we were firing on all cylinders and were smooth throughout. We had little letdown in the final game, but we were strong enough to finish up well.”

The only noise Penn State made after the opening game came late in the third, with it trailing, 12-3.

Outside hitter David Muir, the Nittany Lions’ brightest spot, sparked a comeback with 16 attacks in the final game, helping bring Penn State as close as 12-9.

The Waves prevailed, getting an ace from Grinberg to win the game.

“I think when you get up on a team like we did, it becomes very easy to get relaxed and become unfocused on what you’re doing,” Grinberg said. “Overall I felt that we did the things we had to do to win. Now all we’ve got to do is come back and do it again tomorrow.”

“We just made some errors at a time that we couldn’t afford to,” Penn State Coach Tom Peterson said. “We had the first game won and let it slip away from us. That proved to be the downfall for us and the break for them.”