PREP NOTES

The Pepperdine men’s volleyball team, the defending NCAA champion, opens its season today with six former Orange County high school players on its 18-man roster.

Junior outside hitter Dain Blanton, the 1989 Times Orange County player of the year at Laguna Beach, and senior outside hitter Duane Cameron, a 1989 graduate of Marina High, are returning starters from last season’s 24-4 team.

Cameron moved to outside hitter this season, replacing Alon Grinberg, last season’s MVP. Cameron played middle blocker last season, finishing with 251 kills and a team-high 119 blocks. He will share the passing duties with Blanton, who had 313 kills last season.

“There were a number of reasons why we won the national championship last season,” Pepperdine Coach Marv Dunphy said, “and the overall improvement of guys like Blanton and Cameron figure into the equation. They worked hard all year, and it showed.”

Others returning are sophomore outside hitters Todd Beebe (Woodbridge), Nathan Owens (Capistrano Valley Christian), Braden Coenen (Marina, Orange Coast College) and Mike Shannon (El Toro). Coenen is back after being sidelined with a foot injury last February.

Volleyball Monthly named the Corona del Mar girls’ team co-national champions with Muncie (Ind.) Burris High in the magazine’s final rankings. It was Corona del Mar’s first national title, Burris’ second and was the first time co-champions were named in the rankings’ 10-year history.

Laguna Beach finished eighth and Newport Harbor was 13th.

Golden West College’s Tracy Schriber, a former Corona del Mar standout, made the magazine’s All-America junior college first team.