UCI, Waves meet in final

Now that the UC Irvine men’s volleyball team almost certainly has nothing to lose, it will get the opportunity to see just how much it can win.

The No. 3-ranked Anteaters (26-5) are a virtual lock to make their second straight visit to the four-team NCAA Championship next week at Ohio State University. Their 30-29, 28-30, 27-30, 30-27, 15-10 conquest of No. 2-ranked BYU Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament assured as much.

Tonight, they will shoot for the program’s first MPSF tournament crown when they face top-ranked Pepperdine (26-1) at 7 at the Waves’ Firestone Fieldhouse.

The Waves have won 23 straight matches, including a four-game triumph over No. 5-ranked UC Santa Barbara in Thursday’s semifinal.

They are 5-0 in five-game matches, including a 28-30, 30-20, 30-25, 22-30, 15-13 victory over visiting UCI in their last meeting, March 31.

Coach Marv Dunphy’s Waves swept UCI in their first meeting this season, Jan. 27 at UCI.

“I still think our best volleyball is ahead of us,” said UCI Coach John Speraw, who guided the ‘Eaters to the program’s first MPSF semifinal win in four appearances. UCI has never played in an MPSF tournament title match.

Pepperdine, on the other had, has a rich tradition of success under Dunphy, one of the most respected coaches in the game. The Waves have five NCAA titles (2005, 1992, 1986, 1985 and 1978). They captured MPSF tournament titles in 2005, 2002 and 1998.

UCI’s win Thursday, as well as it’s quarterfinal triumph over visiting Hawaii April 21, makes it 3-6 all-time in the postseason.

“We don’t have as much preparation time as we had with BYU, but we’ve played [the Waves] pretty recently and our guys know what challenges they’ll face [tonight],” Speraw said. “ [Pepperdine is] a big blocking team with a great opposite in [6-foot-7 sophomore Paul] Carroll. And the thing that separates them from other teams is they get such good left-side play, so you can’t load up on Carroll. [6-3 sophomore outside hitter J.D.] Schleppenbach played great against Santa Barbara.

“And the guy who makes the whole thing work is Irvine’s own Jonathan Winder [a Woodbridge High product]. He’s such a phenomenal player. I’ve had the pleasure of coaching him on a couple junior national teams.”

Winder, a 6-8 junior setter, is the MPSF Player of the Year. The primary recipient of Winder’s sets this season has Carroll, a first-team All-MPSF honoree out of Australia. Carroll had a match-high 22 kills and hit .381 Thursday. Carroll ranks No. 2 nationally in points and kills.

Another of Pepperdine’s strengths is blocking. The Waves earned a 13.5-5 edge over UCSB in that department Thursday and 6-8 senior middle blocker Tom Hulse ranks third nationally with 1.88 blocks per game.

In the regular season, Pepperdine led the MPSF in digs and was second in blocking and kills.

The Anteaters are keyed by senior middle blocker David Smith, a first-team All-MPSF performer who has hit at least .500 in 20 of the team’s 31 matches this season.

They also rely heavily upon senior outside hitter Jayson Jablonsky, senior opposite Matt Webber and senior setter Brian Thornton.

Jablonsky, the 2006 National and MPSF Player of the Year, had a team-high 24 kills and hit .354 against BYU Thursday. His 1,476 career kills rank second in UCI annals.

Webber had 21 kills and hit .359 against the Cougars. When both are pounding kills at an efficient rate, UCI is difficult to beat.

Speraw said having made the NCAA tournament, takes the pressure off of tonight’s outcome. But he would still love to make UCI history with a win.

“I just want to keep winning,” Speraw said. “It’s good for us. This time of year, you want to win.”