Jan. 9, 2012
Match Notes 
MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine men’s volleyball team kicks off the 2012 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation schedule this week, beginning with a Wednesday (Jan. 11) evening match versus Cal State Northridge inside Firestone Fieldhouse. The Waves welcome Long Beach State on Saturday (Jan. 14).
MATCH #3 - Wednesday (Jan. 11) at Firestone Fieldhouse: #11 Cal State Northridge (1-2, 0-0 MPSF) at #10 Pepperdine (1-1, 0-0 MPSF) at 7 p.m.
MATCH #4 - Saturday (Jan. 14) at Firestone Fieldhouse: #5 Long Beach State (2-1, 0-0 MPSF) at #10 Pepperdine at 7 p.m.
WHAT’S NEXT - The Waves continue the home stand next weekend, Jan. 20 and 21, with a pair of matches against Hawaii.
LOOKING BACK - Pepperdine split the two-match series with Lewis last weekend. The Waves dropped the season opener 3-1 on Saturday night, before rebounding with 3-2 win on Sunday versus the Flyers. Freshman Josh Taylor had a break out performance with 26 kills earned on a .583 clip to bring his season total to a team-best 39 kills.
SIGHT & SOUND - All home Pepperdine men’s volleyball home matches are broadcast live and for FREE via WaveCasts. In addition to live broadcasts, WaveCasts also offers a large selection of game highlights, interviews, features and more! GameTracker is also available and offers live scores and statistics. Go to PepperdineSports.com to find links to all available media.
TICKETS - Single-game prices for home events are $8 for adults, $5 for students/seniors/children and free to all Pepperdine students, faculty and staff (and their dependents) with a valid Pepperdine ID. An all-sports pass, which provides admission to all Pepperdine home sporting events, with the exception of men’s basketball, is $100. Call the Ticket Office at (866) WAVE-TIX for more information.
NOTING THE WAVES - This will be the 995th and 996th match in Pepperdine history ... The Waves are 682-312 all time ... In conference play the Waves are 476-235 and 271-118 in MPSF action ... Marv Dunphy boasts a career record of 519-215 ... The Waves are 359-106 when playing inside Firestone Fieldhouse ... The Waves are 136-40 all-time during the month of January ... Pepperdine is only 2-10 when ranked #10 in the AVCA, but holds a 23-5 advantage when playing a #11-ranked opponent and is 23-18 all-time against #5-ranked teams ... The Waves are 52-19 all-time vs. CSUN and 46-38 against LBSU.
PRESEASON MPSF POLL - With 62 points, the Waves were picked to finished eighth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in a preseason vote of the league’s 12 coaches. BYU tallied the most points with 115, closely followed by UC Irvine with 112.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE - The Matadors were picked to finish tied for sixth in the MPSF preseason poll .... Cal State Northridge went 1-2 during the opening week of play, losing to UCLA and UC Santa Barbara before picking up a win against Loyola-Chicago at the UCSB Invitational ... Julius Hoefer leads the Matador offense in the early going with 3.50 kills/set followed by Matt Stork with a 3.12 average ... Charlie Condron is just one of two players on the roster to have played ever set of the season, and has picked up 1.91 digs/set in three matches ... Drew Stalker is the other mainstay in the lineup and averages 1.32 kills and 0.86 blocks.
LONG BEACH STATE - Long Beach State went 2-1 and the UCSB Invitational last weekend, beating Loyola-Chicago and Ohio State, but losing to UC Irvine ... The 49ers were also picked to place sixth in the MPSF preseason poll along with CSUN ... Senior Jim Baughman led LBSU past the Buckeyes with 20 kills ... The 49er’s third-place showing at the UCSB Invitational was their best showing at the tournament since winning it all in 2006.
Josh Taylor - Freshman Josh Taylor proved himself early and often during the Waves’ opening weekend versus Lewis. In the first match, Taylor paced Pepperdine with 13 kills. He followed that up with 26 put aways in the second contest, earned on a blistering .583 hitting percentage. The 26 kills ranks as the fourth most by any Pepperdine freshman in the rally scoring era. Sean Rooney and Maurice Torres both pounded down 28 kills as freshman to tie for first place.
Maurice Torres - With a career tally of 786 kills, Maurice Torres is on pace to become Pepperdine’s 17th member of the 1,000 kill club by the end of the season. Torres averaged 4.04 kill/set as a sophomore, which ranks tied for 10th in the Waves’ single season rally scoring era record book.
OUTSIDE HITTERS - Redshirt senior Chase Ross and freshman Josh Taylor have shined as outside hitters in the early portions of the season. Together, they average 6.55 kills/set (Taylor, 4.33; Ross, 2.22) and have committed just three total serve receive errors as primary passers.
SETTER - Freshman Matt West will be quarterbacking the offense in 2012. In two matches, West has averaged 9.33 assists/set to lead the Waves to a .268 hitting percentage
LIBERO/LIBERO - With the first year of the new two libero rule in effect, Mike McMahon and Ryan Plueger have been sharing the defensive duties. Plueger came into the match during the second set versus Lewis on Jan. 7 and picked up five digs. McMahon came in off the bench during the follow up match and collected 10 digs.
RANKINGS - Pepperdine is currently listed at #10 in the AVCA Coaches’ Top-15 Poll and have reached as high as #9 this season.
SOCIAL MEDIA - Fans can follow the Waves on Twitter @PepperdineWaves and “like” us on Facebook by searching for Pepperdine Athletics or Pepperdine Men’s Volleyball.
Marv Dunphy — Now in his 29th season as head coach of the Waves, Marv Dunphy has time and again proven himself to be one of the top teachers in the sport. He has 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 entered the 2012 season with a career record of 518-214 (.708). Dunphy has long been involved with USA Volleyball, having been part of the coaching staff at five Olympics, including head coach of the 1988 team and consultant coach for the 2008 squad, both of which won gold. He has been inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame (1994), AVCA Hall of Fame (2009) and the Pepperdine Athletics (2010).
ROSTER — The Waves return four starters to the lineup including Maurice Torres (OPP), Matt Pollock (MB), Chase Ross (OH) and Mike McMahon (L). Nine letterwinners are joined by seven freshmen to bring the squad total to 20. In addition to the returning starters, rookies Matt West (S), Josh Taylor (OH) and Nikola Antonijevic (MB) are expected to shoulder starting duties this season. In terms of athletic eligibility, the squad break down includes four seniors, three juniors, six sophomores and seven freshmen.
VOLLEYBALL HISTORY — Pepperdine has won five NCAA men’s volleyball championships, second only to UCLA. The Waves have won the MPSF Tournament four times and have won or shared nine regular-season conference titles. Pepperdine has won either an MPSF regular-season or tournament title in seven of the last 12 seasons. The Waves have finished in the top six in the final AVCA poll in each of the last 13 seasons. Pepperdine student-athletes have won national player of the year honors eight times and All-American accolades 75 times. A Pepperdine alum has competed for the U.S. 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 16 schools to have accomplished this feat - and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest enrollment and is the only school not in a major conference. 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 #55 overall on U.S. News and World Report’s list of America’s best colleges. The 2011-12 school year marks Pepperdine’s 75th anniversary.
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