Pepperdine’s Winder sets it up

Jonathan Winder heard the pop as soon as he hit the floor.

His first thought: a torn anterior cruciate ligament -- season over.

That was December. Today, fully recovered from a cracked tibia that kept him out only five weeks, Winder will lead Pepperdine into a national semifinal match against Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne in college volleyball’s Final Four at Columbus, Ohio.

“I wasn’t sure I was going to play again this season, let alone play in the Final Four,” Winder said.

Winder didn’t just play, he dominated. The junior setter has averaged 13.34 assists and 1.97 digs in 23 matches and was chosen Mountain Pacific Sports Federation player of the year.

The Waves (26-2) won 23 consecutive matches with Winder serving as floor general and they finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation. The lone hiccup after Winder’s return came last week in the MPSF championship match against UC Irvine, which defeated Pepperdine, 16-14, in the decisive fifth game of that match.

Still, Pepperdine is the top-seeded team at the national tournament and Coach Marv Dunphy, who has coached the Waves to four NCAA titles, said Winder’s recovery is a key reason.

“I don’t think we’d be here if he didn’t come back,” Dunphy said. “He is a significant player for our team and in our league.”

That’s partly because Winder is an anomaly at his position. At 6 feet 8, he towers over most setters and gives the Waves an added blocking presence at the net. He averaged more than a block a game.

Dunphy said Winder’s height allows him to be a better setter because he can get to poorly passed balls that might get over the head of a smaller player. He added that Winder’s ability to see the floor and set the right player is second to none.

“I think the height thing is overrated,” Dunphy said. “It’s really not how big you are, it’s how good you are.”

Winder is plenty good. As a freshman two years ago, he was the starting setter when the Waves won the national championship. He was chosen national freshman of the year and a second-team All-American. Last season, he averaged 13.3 assists, 1.64 digs and 1.14 blocks and was second-team All-American again.

It’s no wonder that all of the Waves held their breath when Winder crashed to the ground after landing in an awkward position during an exhibition match in Florida.

“I thought it would be pretty bad,” Winder said. “It was a big surprise when I got the results.”

He missed five matches, but returned Jan. 27 against UC Irvine and the Waves swept the Anteaters. They went on to sweep 11 of their next 20 opponents and won five other matches in four games.

That was enough to get them an at-large berth in the Final Four after they missed out on the automatic berth awarded to the MPSF champion.

Winder said the two Final Four appearances in three seasons validate his choice to play volleyball in college rather than basketball. At Irvine Woodbridge, Winder stood out in both sports and even drew some interest for Gonzaga as a basketball player.

“I just thought I had much more of a future in volleyball,” Winder said. “Some people were shocked, but I’m pretty excited with the way things turned out.”

The best part, Dunphy said, is that Winder has room for growth.

“In high school he was a 50-50 basketball-volleyball guy so he wasn’t grasping everything he needed to as a volleyball player,” Dunphy said. “Now he’s starting to absorb more of the little things. His future is real bright because he still has a ways to go in terms of developing as a player.”

peter.yoon@latimes.com

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NCAA VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

* Who: No. 1 Pepperdine (26-2) vs. No. 4 Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne (22-7); No. 2 UC Irvine (27-5) vs. No. 3 Penn State (22-7).

* When: Semifinals, 2 and 4 p.m. today; final, Saturday, 4 p.m.

* Where: St. John’s Arena, Columbus, Ohio

* Television: ESPN2, today, 2 p.m. and Saturday, 4 p.m.; ESPNU, today, 4 p.m.