NCAA VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: PEPPERDINE WINS TITLE WAVES OUTLAST BRUINS IN NCAA SHOWDOWN PEPPERDINE 3, UCLA 2.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

Pepperdine didn't have the tradition or the huge home-court advantage Saturday night, but the Waves had an immense amount of fortitude, and in the end that mattered more than anything.

Behind the leadership of seniors James Ka, John Mayer and Sean Rooney, the Waves didn't panic when they were one game away from defeat, and that confidence helped them rally for a 30-23, 23-30, 24-30, 30-25, 15-10 victory over UCLA and their fifth national championship in NCAA men's volleyball.

The Pauley Pavilion crowd of 6,853, heavily titled toward the third-seeded Bruins, was rowdy and ready to celebrate when UCLA won the third game, but once top-seeded Pepperdine won the fourth game, the Waves knew they had the advantage, and not just because of momentum.

Six times during the regular season, the Waves had seen matches go to a fifth game, and Pepperdine won all six. That led to a quiet confidence in the huddle before the start of the fifth game.

``We've stayed positive all year, no matter what situation we've been in, and knowing our record in fifth games this year we felt really good,'' Mayer said. ``With the way we won the fourth game, we knew there had to be some doubt in (the Bruins') minds, so we took advantage of that.''

Pepperdine scored its first three points of the fifth game on UCLA errors, and the Waves never looked back, as they built an 8-1 lead and cruised to their first national title since 1992.

``This group bought into what we were trying to do on the very first day and throughout the year,'' Pepperdine coach Marv Dunphy said, ``so this was very well-earned and well-deserved.''

Rooney, the national player of the year, had a great start as the Waves had a hitting percentage of .639 in the first game and committed only one hitting error, but after that the Bruins kept him mostly in check.

Rooney finally broke out in the fourth game, with seven kills, and finished with a team-high 26.

But the player of the match, in defeat, was UCLA senior Jonathan Acosta, who had 29 kills and a match-best .523 hitting percentage. That wasn't enough for a UCLA team that had been slowed by injuries throughout the year and made frequent lineup changes Saturday in an attempt to find a rhythm.

``Supposedly we weren't good enough to be here, according to some people'' said UCLA coach Al Scates, referring to the controversy regarding UCLA's at-large selection to the tournament, ``so I'm very happy with the way we played. ... A few breaks here and there, and who knows?''

It's hard to beat a team that plays a near-perfect game, and that's essentially what Pepperdine did in the first game. The Waves committed their only hitting error of the game when they had already built a 15-10 lead, and that advantage, along with solid passing against tough UCLA serving, was more than enough.

The Bruins rallied and put themselves on the verge of victory with excellent serving and blocking in the second and third games. In the third, with the game tied 18-18, the Bruins scored five of the next six points to take a 23-19 lead.

That set up the crucial fourth game and Pepperdine didn't blink. The Waves built a 14-10 lead and the Bruins rallied to within 23-21 but the Waves scored five of the next six points.

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Andy Hein (3) celebrates after Pepperdine scores a point in the Waves' NCAA championship match against UCLA.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press