Friday, May 1, 1998

The Rematch

The Waves advance to the
championship with an easy victory
over Princeton

By Cindy Luis
Star-Bulletin

Two months ago, Scott Birdwell took a week off during the season to do research for his senior thesis: The Current State of Architectural Plans and Their Effect on the Construction Industry.

Birdwell's thesis could be applied to the current state of Princeton volleyball. The Tigers need more time -- and a bigger block -- if they are to be more effective the next time they reach the NCAA final four.

Princeton's hopes of following Lewis' lead in staging a near-upset lasted all of 15 minutes. That's how long it took for top-seeded Pepperdine to reel off the fifth 15-1 game in NCAA championship tournament history.

By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Former Punahou player Scott Wong, right, of Pepperdine
spikes the ball past Princeton's Jason Morrow.

---

The Waves needed just 47 minutes longer to finish off the Tigers, 15-1, 15-6, 15-4, in the second semifinal at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Pepperdine (23-4) advances to tomorrow's 6:30 p.m. final against UCLA in a rematch of last Saturday's Mountain Pacific Sports Federation final won by the Waves.

It's the first championship match appearance since 1992 for the Waves, who won their third title that year. Last night was the first final four appearance for Princeton (16-9), an accomplishment the Tigers savored.

"Beyond this match, this was the most success ever for Princeton volleyball," said Birdwell, the only Tiger in double-kill figures with 14. "Tonight doesn't put a damper on the season. We're in Hawaii for the week. It was a success for all of us. If we were in Ohio, we'd be driving back to Princeton right now."

The Tigers never got it in gear in front of the remnants of a curfew-conscious crowd of 9,026. What the Waves didn't block, Andre the Giant wouldn't have touched, as Princeton's hitters had 26 errors, mostly trying to go over Pepperdine's wall at the net.

"I think we got a little rattled by their block," said Tiger senior Dan Brandt, one of four Punahou School products in the match. "We never got in the groove. When we did pass the ball, we had one option and they had two guys there. It was tough."

The Waves outblocked the Tigers, 14-6. Putting up the biggest wall was 6-foot-6 Player of the Year George Roumain, who had nine blocks to go with his team-high 13 kills.

By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Former Rainbow Rick Tune, left, and Wong team up
to put the "roof" on Princeton.

---

Former Rainbow Rick Tune added eight blocks and hit .833, with 10 kills and no errors in 12 attempts. Chris Jacobson had 12 kills and Scott Wong and Peter Kodascy each added 10 kills.

"Princeton being here is a great story for volleyball," Pepperdine coach Marv Dunphy said. "I know they didn't play as well as they're capable of playing. I think they got off to a bad start and never got on track."

Pepperdine led, 2-1, early in Game 1 and then ran off 13 straight points. Princeton's only point came on the Waves' lone hitting error of the game.

The Tigers led, 4-0, in Game 2, but didn't score again until Pepperdine had taken control with nine unanswered points. The only suspense in Game 3: Whether the Tigers would avoid scoring the fewest points in championship tournament play.

The record for fewest points is eight, scored by Ball State against UCLA in 1979. Ohio State scored 10 in 1993, also against UCLA.

"If we were on the ATP Tour and you had to go to the postgame talk or skip it and get fined, I might have taken the fine," Princeton coach Glenn Nelson said. "All I can say is Pepperdine played a great match. We didn't pass the ball, and when we didn't do that, I knew we were in trouble. We played hard, but they're an awfully good team. I wish them luck on Saturday."

Tune is wishing for a pro-Pepperdine crowd tomorrow night. The fans at the first semifinal were decidedly pro-Lewis.

"I think the crowd was rooting for the underdog," Tune said of the Lewis-UCLA match. "But I also don't think this town has a lot of love for UCLA. Being a Rainbow, UCLA always seemed to end our streaks. I hope the crowd will be Wave fans Saturday."

Box Score

Pepperdine def. Princeton, 15-1, 15-6, 15-4

Princeton Tigers (16-9)

		g	k	e	at	pct.	bs	ba	d
S.Cooper	3	4	4	12	.000	1	0	3
Morrow		3	1	0	1	1.000	0	1	3
Birdwell	3	14	8	28	.214	2	1	6
Brandt		3	4	1	8	.375	0	1	2
Devens		3	8	0	10	.800	1	1	0
J.Cooper	3	7	13	26	-.231	0	0	0
Dowd		1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Totals		3	38	26	85	.141	4	4	16

Pepperdine Waves (23-4)

		g	k	e	at	pct.	bs	ba	d
Jacobson	3	12	1	15	.733	1	3	1
Riley		3	0	0	1	.000	0	2	3
Roumain		3	13	4	22	.409	2	7	2
Wong		3	10	3	18	.389	0	2	5
Kodascy		3	10	2	15	.533	0	0	3
Tune		3	10	0	12	.833	0	8	4
Killian		2	1	0	1	1.000	0	0	1
Nelson		2	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Kahalen		1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Crosier		1	0	0	3	-.333	0	0	0
Totals		3	57	12	87	.517	3	22	18

Aces--PU (0). Pep (6): Roumain 3, Jacobson 1, Riley 1, Tune 1. Assists--PU (35): Morrow 35. Pep (51): Riley 49, Roumain 1, Kodascy 1.

T--1:12. Officials: Carus, Taylor, Treibitch.

Att--9,079.