WAVE RUNNER

Coach Marv Dunphy’s name is synonymous with Pepperdine men’s volleyball, but when it comes to talking about the top-ranked Waves this season, another immediately comes to mind.

“The biggest difference between them and anyone else is pretty obvious,” said Cal State Northridge Coach Jeff Campbell. “Sean Rooney is one of those guys that can take over at any time during a match. He’s so tall. He can pass, he can block, he can serve and he can hit. He can do it all.”

Tyler Hildebrand, Long Beach State’s star sophomore setter, put it succinctly, saying that the Waves “have the best player in the country.”

Rooney, a 6-foot-9 senior, is the leader of a team that heads into the NCAA semifinals tonight for the fourth time in six years.

Pepperdine, considered by many as the favorite to win its fifth national title, will play Ohio State at Pauley Pavilion, after UCLA has played Penn State at 7.

Winning the title has been a driving force for the Waves, who have not won one since 1992.

Since its last title, Pepperdine has come up empty in four trips to the NCAA tournament, and Rooney has been part of two of them. In 2002, he was a super-talented freshman in a veteran group that dominated the regular season and postseason, only to lose the title match to Hawaii in four games. The next year, the Waves lost in a semifinal to Lewis University of Romeoville, Ill.

“In my first year, I was extremely disappointed but I didn’t understand how bad the seniors would feel,” Rooney said. “It was the last time for them and now I know what that feels like.

“We’ve been building to this point. We’ve been close before, but it is not going to change or affect what we do this week.”

The title quest is in the here and now. But there are those who can’t wait to see the future for college volleyball’s dominant player.

“He’s one of the few that is going to be able to play at the next level and, probably if he chooses, have a career in the sport,” Dunphy, his veteran coach, said. “I’m sure he’s one of the guys” being looked at for the U.S. national team.

It is a future that Rooney, once a high school basketball player in his native Wheaton, Ill., also visualizes.

“I can’t think of anything better than to represent your country,” he said, talking about the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

His success spurs Rooney to reach the highest levels of volleyball. An imposing outside hitter with an all-around game that continues to develop, he has been a decorated player throughout his four-year career in Malibu.

There has been none better at putting away opponents this season. Pepperdine set him more than 1,000 times and Rooney has averaged 5.32 kills a game, with only 87 hitting errors in 96 games during the Waves’ 25 matches.

Rooney also possesses a jump serve that has yielded a team-leading 47 aces. He probably will be named national of the player later this week.

“The guy led his team to a 23-2 record,” Hildebrand said. “There’s no one in the country that can stop him.”

Rooney credits Dunphy and assistant coach Rick McLaughlin with rounding out his game.

“I think I’ve become a better blocker,” he said. “Marv and Rick saw it as a priority for me and they challenged me to get better at that.”

Long Beach Coach Alan Knipe predicts that Rooney will improve as he continues to build his body to emphasize his skills.

Through weight training, Rooney said, he is now at 225 pounds, 40 more than when he entered college.

“That’s been the difference,” Knipe said. “That’s what is going to make him a special part of the USA team.”

Right now, Rooney has more pressing business. To him, 12 years without a title is too long for one of college volleyball’s premier programs.

“We believe in what we do and we’ve been training all season for this moment,” he said. “We believe we’re the best.”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Final Four

*--* NCAA MEN’S SEMIFINALS

*--*

* When: Today.

* Where: Pauley Pavilion, UCLA.

* Who: UCLA (25-5) vs. Penn State (30-3), 7 p.m.

Pepperdine (23-2) vs. Ohio State (24-7), 9 p.m.

*--* CHAMPIONSHIP

*--*

* When: 8 p.m. Saturday.

* Where: Pauley Pavilion, UCLA.

*--* HOW THEY GOT THERE

*--*

* UCLA: Was the at-large selection after losing to Cal State Northridge in quarterfinals of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament. Bruins are making a record 24th appearance under Coach Al Scates, but starting setter Dennis Gonzalez is out with a broken finger.

* Penn State: Defeated George Mason in four games to win Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. title. Led by All-Americans Neil Meerstein and Keith Kowal, Nittany Lions are making their seventh consecutive appearance but haven’t won an NCAA game since 1995.

* Pepperdine: Defeated Long Beach State in three games to win MPSF tournament title. Waves haven’t won it all since 1992, but Sean Rooney is the nation’s best player and freshman setter Jonathan Winder has been outstanding.

* Ohio State: Defeated Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne in four games to win Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. title. Mark Greaves averages 4.34 kills a game for Buckeyes, who are making their first appearance in four years.

*--* TELEVISION

*--*

* First semifinal will be live on ESPN2 and ESPNU.

* Second semifinal will be live on ESPNU and tape-delayed on ESPN2 (10 a.m. Friday).

* Championship match will be live on ESPN2.