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Waves Men's Volleyball Wins McDonald's International Tournament

The Waves men's volleyball team began their pre-season play with an undefeated performance at the McDonald's International Tournament in Kamloops, British Columbia. Ranked No. 4 in the AVCA preseason poll, the Waves won their second title after claiming the inaugural tournament title in 2008. Senior outside hitter Brent Schirripa had 16 kills in a three-game sweep of Dalhousie University in the championship match.

To start the tournament, Pepperdine defeated the University of BC-Okanagan in four sets (25-15, 25-20, 25-27, 25-18) in its first match on Saturday, and then beat host Thompson Rivers University in five sets (21-25, 25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13) in the semifinals on Sunday.

Schirripa, a Los Angeles native, hit .500 (16-4-24) to lead Pepperdine's attack as the Waves outhit Dalhousie, .301 to .132.

"I felt this year we had to overcome some adversity," Pepperdine Coach Marv Dunphy said of the team's tournament performance. "We had a couple of injuries and our young guys played very well. I was pleased with our play ... We received serve pretty well and had some options. That was one of the keys to our game. If we can pass well we can run really fast on the outside."

Junior setter Kasey Crider, who was named the Tournament MVP, had 33 assists.

"I'm not into awards," Dunphy said. "But I thought (Kasey) played pretty well throughout the entire tournament."

Senior middle blocker Rodnei Santos, who hails from Sao Paulo, Brazil, also made the all-tournament team and senior Sean Grubbs was selected as the tournament's top libero. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Beau Vandeweghe added 10 kills to the Waves' cause.

The championship match was a tough battle. Pepperdine built a 13-4 lead in the second game but Dalhousie came back to tie it up at 23-23. Schirripa put the Waves back in front with a kill and a Dalhousie attack error gave the second game to Pepperdine. The third game was tied 18-18 when the Waves scored five of the next six points, including kills by Santos and Schirripa. Vandeweghe ended the match with a kill.

The Waves' matches against Canadian opposition will be considered exhibitions as Pepperdine gets ready to begin the regular season on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 4 p.m. when they visit California Baptist.

To find out more about Waves Men's Volleyball, visit www.pepperdinesports.com