ROUMAIN EVENT; FLORIDA IMPORT IS WAVE OF THE PRESENT : VOLLEYBALL SHOWDOWN PEPPERDINE AT UCLA, 7 P.M.

Byline: Heather Gripp Daily News Staff Writer

The relaxed setting of Malibu fits in with George Roumain's spare-time activities of surfing and playing guitar.

On the volleyball court - where he's all business - Roumain is hardly relaxed. Eyes quickly turn to Pepperdine's fiery junior outside hitter as he pounds down kills seemingly at will and covers the court to turn in clutch blocks and digs.

``He's a guy we go to a lot,'' coach Marv Dunphy said. ``We know it and everybody knows it. It's not something you can disguise. He's been playing consistently well. He just plays hard and plays well.''

Roumain's play has lifted Pepperdine into contention for a national title after an 18-9 record and first-round elimination from the playoffs last year. The Waves (18-3, 15-2) recently dropped to No. 3 in the national rankings after occupying the top slot for a few weeks. However, they are tied with UCLA (ranked No. 1 in the USA Today/AVCA poll) for first place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's Mountain Division entering today's showdown with the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion.

Roumain insists the game isn't as easy as he makes it look.

``It's not really,'' he said. ``As a team, we train really hard. If you train hard, it's easier to do it in a game.

``I try to be a team leader, but I'm just responsible for some of it. There's six guys on the court, and if one guy isn't playing well, it kills everything. We just all have to be clicking on the same cylinders.''

Roumain has the highest kill average in the nation and is among team leaders in nearly every statistical category. He is often the primary focus of the opposition, which brings added blockers his way.

``Teams have keyed on him, but he's done pretty well with it,'' Dunphy said.

``It's just something you have to deal with,'' Roumain said. ``I just try to swing high and hard and rattle it off the blocker.''

Roumain is playing even better than last season when he earned All-American honors, Dunphy said. ``He's just matured as a volleyball athlete,'' Dunphy said. ``He was inconsistent (before). If he made a mistake, he'd let it get to him. Now he doesn't. That's just part of the growing process of a player.

``The biggest thing is he's a much better hitter. He can hit the bad sets. I guess you'd say he's a much better bad-ball hitter.''

A native of Parkland, Fla., Roumain, 22, didn't begin focusing much attention on the sport until late in high school.

After moving to California, Roumain was regarded by many as the nation's top prep player during his senior year at Santa Ynez High in 1995. He led the Pirates to a Southern Section title and was named to Volleyball Magazine's ``Fabulous 50'' list of recruits. The summer after graduation, Roumain trained with the U.S. National ``B'' team and was named the MVP of the Junior Olympics in Orlando, Fla.

Its proximity to the beach and strong volleyball tradition attracted the advertising major to Pepperdine. Roumain hopes to combine his love of volleyball and the outdoors by playing professionally on the beach.

But with just two matches left in the regular season, Roumain's focus is clearly on another goal: bringing home Pepperdine's first men's volleyball national championship since 1992.

``That's our goal,'' he said. ``We have a lot of weapons this year. Our chemistry is so good. We all get along. That's a lot to say for a team.We're having fun out there.''

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Photo: Pepperdine's George Roumain, who did most of his growing up in Florida, often has to hit against a bevy of blockers. He draws the attention as the star of an NCAA-title contender.

Evan Yee/Daily News