Pepperdine Outlasts UCLA in Five Games

MALIBU â€”  Somebody call Marv Dunphy. He missed a good one.

The storied coach of the Pepperdine men’s volleyball team is on a one-year sabbatical with the U.S. national team, but the Waves are doing just fine, thank you.

Host Pepperdine, ranked No. 4 in the nation, defeated No. 3 UCLA, 17-16, 17-16, 13-15, 8-15, 15-10, in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match Thursday night that lasted three hours.

Andre Breuer, a transfer from Hawaii, delivered a career-high 36 kills in 74 attempts and Keith Barnett added 23 kills for Pepperdine (6-1, 4-1 in MPSF play).

Then there was Brad Keenan.

He was listed as a freshman. He looked like a freshman. He definitely didn’t play like one.

Keenan, a 6-foot-8 middle blocker who was at Fountain Valley High a year ago, had 21 kills and had a .548 hitting percentage.

He was especially effective in the rally-scored fifth game, coming up with two consecutive blocks and a kill to extend a one-point edge into a 9-5 lead for the Waves.

“Keenan emotionally drove us in that fifth game,� said interim Coach Jeff Stork. “He was big in the match.�

The only thing missing for Pepperdine was starting middle blocker Tim O’Connell, who sprained an ankle at practice Wednesday morning and did not play against UCLA.

O’Connell was more than adequately replaced by Don Killian, who had 18 kills and five blocks.

Scott Wong did not play well offensively for the Waves, a rarity in itself for the All-American outside hitter. He finished with 22 kills but had a .094 hitting percentage.

But Wong could afford to laugh about it afterward. To him, a victory over UCLA (9-2, 3-2) is always to be enjoyed. Wong’s brother, Kevin, was a second-team All-American for the Bruins.

Scott, recruited by UCLA and Pepperdine, chose to take a different path than his brother and went with the Waves.

“It’s always great to beat UCLA,� said Wong, who played well on defense and had 17 digs. “They’re a great team and they have a great coaching staff. We showed a lot of character. It’s sweet.�

The victory was the biggest in the brief career of Stork, who is taking over this season while Dunphy is with the national team in Colorado Springs.

Stork suffered his first loss last week in five games against Brigham Young. In that match, the Waves won the first two games but dropped the last three.

There was not a repeat meltdown against UCLA, though it was definitely close.

The Waves won the first two games against the Bruins in come-from-behind fashion, fighting off six game points in the first game and eight in the second game.

Mark Williams had 22 kills and Seth Burnham added 19 for UCLA.