Pepperdine Ushers In New Wave
The off-season was anything but relaxing and refreshing for the Pepperdine men’s volleyball team.
First, Coach Marv Dunphy embarked on a one-year leave of absence to join the coaching staff of the U.S. men’s national team.
Then the Waves’ all-time leader in kills, George Roumain, left the team for good, graduating from Pepperdine and joining the national team.
Funny thing, though. Despite losing one of the best minds in college volleyball in Dunphy and an offensive machine in Roumain, who produced 2,394 career kills, Pepperdine is still in pretty good shape.
Ranked No. 3 in the coaches’ national poll, the Waves certainly are a different team without Roumain. They might even be . . . better?
Losing Roumain “does a couple things for us,” said interim Coach Jeff Stork, a three-time All-American at Pepperdine and a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 1988, ‘92, and ’96.
“George Roumain was a dominating force in NCAA volleyball. Everybody knew George was going to get 50 or 60% of the offensive attempts. With him gone, we may be a more well-rounded team offensively. Now opponents will have to look other places to find out where we’re going.”
One of those places will be Scott Wong, a 6-foot-5 junior who was an All-American last season despite Roumain’s presence.
Wong, the freshman of the year in 1998, followed it with a strong sophomore season, delivering 456 kills, second on the team to Roumain’s 624, and 206 digs, which tied for sixth in the NCAA.
Wong will be joined by Andre Breuer, the second player in three seasons to transfer to Malibu from Hawaii.
The 6-9 Breuer, a senior from Germany, was a second-team All-American last season and was seventh in the NCAA with 1.72 blocks per game.
Breuer has shifted from middle blocker, his position at Hawaii, to opposite hitter with the Waves. He’s already making a difference.
In the championship match of the UC Santa Barbara tournament, Breuer had 26 kills and Pepperdine defeated USC in four games.
“He’s transitioning into it fairly well,” Stork said. “He’s a smart guy with international experience. He adds a lot of maturity.”
Keith Barnett, a 6-3 junior, will start at outside hitter for the second consecutive season. He finished third on the Waves last season with 288 kills and 23 aces.
Freshman Brad Keenan, a 6-8 middle blocker from Fountain Valley who was one of the top five recruits in the nation, has strengthened one of the Waves’ weaknesses last season.
Pepperdine (2-0) out-blocked USC, 31-22, as well as undersized La Verne, 13-1, in a nonconference match last week.
Senior Kurt Nelson takes over at setter for J.J. Riley, now a graduate assistant with the Waves, and junior Donny Killian returns as a starting middle blocker.
“We have a lot of firepower this year,” Wong said. “I may get more swings this year, I may get less. There are five guys who can bring heat, and the other guy’s our setter.”
At the very least, the Waves (20-5, 15-4 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play last season) will probably advance farther than they did last year. They lost to USC in the first round of the MPSF playoffs, with Roumain out because of a sprained ankle.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
Surfing the Net
Other players to watch with ties to the region:
MATT PROSSER
Junior, Long Beach State, from Buena High
* Top-flight middle blocker was sixth in NCAA with .460 hitting percentage and tied for eighth with 1.7 blocks per game last year.
DYLAN HERRICK
Senior, Pacific, from Campbell Hall High
* Finished second on Pacific with 370 kills last year and will team with Vladimir Andric to give Tigers strong outside attack.
TREVOR JULIAN
Junior, USC, from Harvard-Westlake High
* Three-year starter finished third on Trojans in kills (269), aces (24) and digs (154) last season.
MAC WILSON
Junior, Brigham Young, from Highland High
* Will miss first month of season because of broken finger, but will be top player for defending NCAA champions.
JASON LEE
Senior, Loyola Marymount, from Westlake High
* Outside hitter led Lions with 187 digs last season and was fourth with 267 kills.
JASON MORROW
Senior, Princeton, from Harvard-Westlake High
* Setter will try to help Tigers rebound from subpar 11-13 season after advancing to NCAA Final Four in 1998.
MIKE SZYMANSKI
Senior, San Diego State, from Cal State Northridge
* Szymanski will start at outside hitter and teammate Josh Sanders, another former Northridge player, will see plenty of playing time.
WILL CURTIS
Freshman, Stanford, from Harvard-Westlake High
* Had 20 kills in preseason tournament against Loyola Marymount and could develop into starter for young Cardinal team.
RICHARD NELSON
Freshman, UCLA, from Alemany High
* Excelled in early-season UC Irvine tournament, but will be backup to All-American setter Brandon Taliaferro.
