Press Release courtesy of Pepperdine Athletics
The #10 Pepperdine men’s volleyball team will host #5 UC Irvine at 3 p.m. on Sunday in Firestone Fieldhouse. The match will stream live on WaveCasts.
MATCH 2 – Sunday (January 14) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: No. 10 Pepperdine vs. No. 5 UC Irvine at 3 p.m. (PT). Watch: WaveCasts.
COVERAGE/SOCIAL MEDIA – Can’t make it out to the match? No problem! PepperdineWaves.com offers a wide variety of FREE options to follow along with all your favorite teams. WaveCasts broadcasts all home matches for free on your computer or mobile device. Veteran play-by-play announcer Al Epstein will once again serve as the voice of Pepperdine volleyball in 2018. Links to any available live stats, video and audio can always be found by clicking on a particular event on the men’s volleyball schedule page at PepperdineWaves.com.
TICKETS — Each match costs $10 for adults and $8 for alumni, children, seniors and non-Pepperdine students. Tickets are free for Pepperdine students, faculty and staff with a valid Pepperdine ID. Purchase tickets in advance at 866-WAVE-TIX or at the ticket office on game day.
UP NEXT – After the match on Sunday, the Waves will host UC Santa Barbara, a team receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll, on Saturday, January 20. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. and the match will stream on WaveCasts.
Prior to the match at 5:45 p.m., there will be a Marv Dunphy Volleyball Court dedication in honor of Head Coach Emeritus Marv Dunphy. Special edition Marv Dunphy hats will be a giveaway to the first 1,500 fans.
THE NO. 10 WAVES – Pepperdine opened the 2018 season with a 3-0 sweep over Cal Lutheran in Firestone Fieldhouse. Collectively, the Waves post 13.67 kills/set on a .406 hitting percentage, while adding 12.67 assists/set, 2.67 aces/set, 7.67 digs/set and 3.50 blocks/set after the first match of the season. As a team, the Waves rank atop the national rankings in aces/set, blocks/set, opponent hitting percentage allowed (0.016) and win-loss percentage (1.000). The team also ranks 3rd in assists/set and 4th in hitting percentage and kills/set.
The Waves have six players ranked 24-separate times throughout eight categories. Colby Harriman ranks 3rd nationally with 0.67 aces/set, 11th with 4.33 points/set and 15th with 3.33 kills/set among others. Noah Dyer ranks 1st in the nation with a .600 hitting percentage, 15th with 3.33 kills/set and 23rd with 3.67 points/set among his six rankings. Robert Mullahey ranks 2nd nationally with 11.33 assists/set, 9th with 1.33 blocks/set, 35th with 1.67 digs/set and 31st with 0.33 aces/set. Clay Carr also ranks 2nd with 1.67 blocks/set, while Jack Cole ranks 9th with 1.33 blocks/set. The two Waves rank in three other categories as well. Weston Barnes rounds out the national rankings for the Waves with a No. 12 ranking with 2.33 digs/set.
NEW MPSF – Prior to the 2018 season, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation split into two separate conference leagues (MPSF and Big West). Pepperdine, along with Brigham Young, Stanford, UCLA and USC remained in the MPSF. New additions Concordia-Irvine and Grand Canyon also joined the conference in 2018 to make it a seven-team league.
Former MPSF-members Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and Hawai’i, along with NCAA Division II member UC San Diego will make up a six-team league sponsored by the Big West Conference.
OPPONENT NOTES: #5 UC IRVINE – Pepperdine holds a 53-24 all-time record against UC Irvine, including a 29-9 record when playing at home and a 24-15 record on the road. The Anteaters won the first-ever match-up in 1971 in Irvine with a 3-1 victory. After that from 1971-94, the Waves went on a 24-match winning streak including 18 straight-set wins. Pepperdine went on another 11-match streak from 1996-2001 and a eight-match streak from 2003-06. Last season, however, the Anteaters took both victories with a 3-1 win at Firestone Fieldhouse and a 3-2 win in Irvine. This season, UCI is off to a good start, ranking 5th in the AVCA Coaches Poll after downing No. 6 Lewis in straight sets and No. 13 Loyola-Chicago in four sets.
LAST SEASON – In 2017, the Waves finished 6th in the MPSF and 8th nationally with a 10-12 overall record and 8-10 conference output. The team produced 12.14 kills/set on a .279 clip and tabbed 11.38 assists/set, 1.05 aces/set, 9.06 digs/set, 2.31 blocks/set and 15.49 points/set. Throughout the 2017 campaign, the Waves posted victories over No. 8 Stanford (3-1), No. 8 Loyola-Chicago (3-2), No. 12 UC Santa Barbara (3-1) and No. 14 CSUN (3-2).
THE HUNT IS ON – The 2018 campaign marks the premier season for David Hunt at the helm of the Waves after he was elevated to the position in July, 2017. He won his first-ever match as head coach of the Waves on January 7, 2018 at Firestone Fieldhouse with a 3-0 sweep over Cal Lutheran. Hunt has been with the Pepperdine men’s volleyball program for the past 10 seasons beginning in 2007 as a video coordinator and volunteer assistant. He was elevated to assistant in 2010 and associate head coach in 2014, before taking over the leadership role. During his time with the Waves, Hunt has earned national acclaim as an assistant with three American Volleyball Coaches Association Thirty Under 30 Awards (2010, 2016, 2017). While Hunt had served under former head coach Marv Dunphy, the Waves produced a 160-104 overall record for a .606 winning percentage*. In the summer of 2016, Hunt once again joined the national coaching ranks with the U.S. Women’s National Team and helped lead Team USA to a bronze medal finish in the 2016 Olympic Games. He first earned a spot on the sideline in 2014 and has continued to excel in a leadership position under legendary coach Karch Kiraly.
WE’RE GOOD HERE: MARV DUNPHY NIGHT – In honor of his tremendous career at the helm of the Waves, Pepperdine will be hosting a dedication ceremony for the Marv Dunphy Volleyball Court prior to the men’s volleyball match against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Jan. 20. The dedication will take place before first serve at 5:45 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse. Special edition ‘Marv Dunphy’ volleyball hats will be a giveaway to the first 1,500 fans in attendance. Fans can share their Marvisms, memories and pictures from the night and from history by using the hashtag #MarvsArmy.
Widely recognized as one of the game’s premier coaches, Dr. Marv Dunphy directed Pepperdine to four NCAA men’s volleyball titles and concluded his 34th and final season as the Waves’ head coach in 2016-17. He is still involved with the program and listed as head coach emeritus for the 2017-18 campaign. He directed Pepperdine to four NCAA championships, each in a different decade (1978, 1985, 1992, 2005). He was the 2005 National Coach of the Year and is a three-time MPSF Coach of the Year. He ended his head coaching career with a 612-277 overall record and a .688 winning percentage.
VOLLEYBALL HISTORY – Pepperdine has won five NCAA men’s volleyball championships, second only to UCLA. The Waves have won the MPSF Tournament three times and have won or shared 10 regular-season conference titles. Pepperdine has won either an MPSF regular-season or tournament title (or both) in six of the last 17 seasons. The Waves have finished in the top six in the final AVCA poll in 17 of the last 21 seasons. Pepperdine student-athletes have won national player of the year honors nine times and All-American accolades 82 times. A Pepperdine alum has competed at the Olympics every time since 1984 (Sean Rooney won gold in 2008).
ABOUT PEPPERDINE – Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I Championships in five different men’s sports — one of just 17 schools to have accomplished this feat — and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a “major” conference. The Waves have won a total of 25 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that’s given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation’s most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks No. 50 overall on U.S. News and World Report’s list of America’s best colleges.
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