The weekend can get a lot hectic during the college men’s volleyball. That’s why Off the Block is providing the top five things to take away from all the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball matches this weekend. (more…)
Tag: Pepperdine
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Video: No. 5 UC Irvine beats No. 10 Pepperdine for big non-conference win
Check out the video highlights filmed by Off the Block associate editor Jonathan Bates of No. 5 UC Irvine’s non-conference victory against No. 10 Pepperdine on Sunday. (more…)
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Video: Coaches react to No. 5 UC Irvine beating No. 10 Pepperdine
No. 5 UC Irvine earned its third road victory against a top-10 ranked team as it beat No. 10 Pepperdine in four games on Sunday. Check out Off the Block associate editor Jonathan Bates’ postmatch interviews with UC Irvine assistant coach Mark Persho and Pepperdine coach David Hunt
UC Irvine assistant coach Mark Persho
Pepperdine coach David Hunt
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Video: Pepperdine coach Hunt discusses start of preseason
Check out Off the Block senior contributor Jonathan Bates’ interview with Pepperdine first-year head coach Dave Hunt after the team’s preseason match on Friday. (more…)
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Video: Hawai’i rallies on road for preseason win vs. Pepperdine
Hawai’i rallied from a two-game deficit to beat Pepperdine five games in an exhibition match on Friday in Malibu, California.
Check out the video highlights of the exhibition match filmed by Off the Block senior contributor Jonathan Bates. (more…)
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Pepperdine to name home court after retired coach Dunphy
The legacy of Hall of Fame retired coach Marv Dunphy will be on full display at every future Pepperdine home match.
The Pepperdine athletics department announced during the weekend that it will dedicate the court at the team’s home arena Firestone Fieldhouse in honor of Dunphy.
Dunphy retired following the 2017 season as one of the winningest coaches in college men’s volleyball history. In his 34 seasons as the team’s head coach, Dunphy had a 612-277 career record and led the Waves to four NCAA championship — with each title occurring in a different decade.
The Waves under Dunphy also ended 16 of the last 17 seasons in the top 10 of the national rankings.
Along with his college coaching accomplishments, Dunphy took a sabbatical from Pepperdine to serve as the head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team from 1985-88. The United States in those four years won the 1985 World Cup, 1986 World Championship, the 1987 Pan American Games and won the gold medal a 1988 Olympics.
That Olympics was the first of seven Olympics featuring Dunphy on a coaching staff for USA Volleyball.
The Waves’ athletics department unveiled its decision to create the Marv Dunphy Volleyball Court at a Pepperdine men’s volleyball ceremony that had about 70 former and current players in attendance.
The newly named volleyball court will be commemorated with a display in the Firestone Fieldhouse. Pepperdine also announced it will have a public acknowledgement of Dunphy’s Hall of Fame career that will take place during a Waves’ home match in the upcoming season.
Dunphy is the second college men’s volleyball coach in recent years to have a court named in his honor. Fort Wayne renamed its court after Hall of Fame coach Annie Ball in his final season before retiring in 2015.
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George Mason to play Pepperdine, Ball State in Uvaldo Acosta Invitational
George Mason will play two non-conference home matches against nationally ranked teams at an event that posthumously honors one of the best players in its program history.
The tournament field for the inaugural Uvaldo Acosta Invitational was unveiled earlier this week with George Mason playing host to Ball State and Pepperdine during the upcoming season. (more…)
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Pepperdine to continue series vs. former MPSF foes UC Irvine, UCSB
The longstanding series for Pepperdine against UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine will both remain intact for the upcoming season, despite no longer being in the same conference.
Pepperdine as part of recently releasing its 2018 schedule that it agreed to a home-and-home series with both of the new Big West men’s volleyball teams.
Throughout the majority NCAA men’s volleyball history, Pepperdine, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara all have been members of the same conference. The Gauchos and Anteaters, though, as Big West schools and the conference adding men’s volleyball departed the MPSF at the conclusion of the 2017 season.
Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara remains one of the longest annual series in college volleyball dating back to 1971. In addition, the Waves and Anteaters have played each other every year since 1987.
The Waves will play home matches against the Anteaters on Jan. 13 and the Gauchos on Jan. 20 as part of a three-match homestead to open the season. It also will concluded each home-and-match series with road matches versus UC Irvine on Feb. 14 and UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 21.
These will be the only Big West teams that the Waves play in the first season following the MPSF split.
Both Pepperdine and UC Irvine finished last season ranked in the top 10 of both the national coaches poll and national media poll.
The Waves return a majority of starters from last year’s team, including All-MPSF outside attacker David Wieczorek. Wieczorek was among the national leaders last season with a 3.86 kills per game average and was voted the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Fan Choice National Player of the Year.
Pepperdine also will have a new head coach for the upcoming season. David Hunt was promoted for assistant coach to head coach following the offseason retirement of Hall of Fame coach Marv Dunphy
UC Irvine ended last season advancing to the MPSF Tournament semifinals and narrowly missed the final at-large bid to the six-team NCAA Tournament. The Anteaters will have to replace multiple All-American starters from last year’s team but return Freshman All-American middle attacker Scott Stadick.
UC Santa Barbara joins the Big West after finishing last season in ninth place in the MPSF and did not qualify for the conference tournament for the first time in almost five years.
Along with these non-conference matches, Pepperdine will have home matches against Princeton on Feb. 3 and Loyola on March 10. It also will travel to Virginia in January for a non-conference tournament with matches against the Ball State and the host school George Mason.
Among the former conference opponents not featured on Pepperdine’s upcoming schedule includes Hawai’i, CSUN and the defending MPSF champions Long Beach State.
This will be the first time since 1970, the inaugural season of volleyball as a NCAA sanctioned sport, that Long Beach State and Pepperdine will not play each other.
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College greats named finalists for SoCal Volleyball Hall of Fame
College men’s volleyball players and coaches were well represented among the finalists being considered for the newest volleyball hall of fame.
The Southern California Indoor Volleyball Hall of Fame announced Wednesday that 27 individuals were selected as finalists for the organization’s second class of hall of fame inductees. (more…)
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Former All-American Hein returns to Pepperdine as assistant coach
A former All-American who helped lead Pepperdine to the program’s last NCAA championship is returning to his alma mater.
Pepperdine announced recently that it hired Andy Hein to be an assistant coach for the upcoming season. (more…)