For a volleyball coaching career spanning 32 years, Pepperdine’s Marv Dunphy does not have a lot of baggage.

The rolling duffle bag and a time-tested strategy were all 67-year-old Dunphy needed for Friday night’s match against Hawaii in the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Waves have two prolific pin hitters — opposite Parker Kaimbach, who leads the league with 4.02 kills per set, and outside hitter Josh Taylor (3.60) — a disruptive server (Matt Tarantino, averaging 0.65 aces per set), and accurate passers. The Waves’ serve-reception accuracy is 94.6 percent.

"If you can’t serve and receive with the big boys, you can’t play with them," Dunphy said. "I think we’ve been, maybe, OK to good."

The serve/pass phase will be key in this 71st meeting between Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponents. UH is tied for second with a 10-2 MPSF record. Pepperdine is 9-2.

"Enjoyment," Dunphy said of the series. "Win or lose, it seems the teams are pretty good. Certainly, that’s the case with UH this year. And we’re pretty good."

Taylor, the older brother of Rainbow Wahine Nikki Taylor, and Kaimbach have taken 52 percent of the Waves’ swings.

"Probably more than their fair share," Dunphy said of the 6-foot-7 pin hitters. "But they’re big boys."

Dunphy said he is concerned about the Warriors’ tough serving, active defense and middle blocker Taylor Averill.

Averill, who is hitting .466 and averaging 1.41 blocks per set, is the rare middle who can play four rotation turns. UH coach Charlie Wade said Averill is comparable to "no one."

"We’ve never seen a middle like that who has the ability to play a complete game like that," Wade added.

As a former setter and opposite, Averill is valuable on trouble plays and defense. Since the middle of last season, Averill received Wade’s blessing to smack bic sets from behind the 3-meter line.

"I told him if he digs the ball, I’m going to give him the bic set," setter Jennings Franciskovic said. "That’s the tradeoff."

Wade said taking off from behind the 3-meter line gives Averill a better view of the defensive obstacles. What’s more, Wade said, "he can take a full approach. He can launch. If you do that in the front row, you can end up clothes-lining yourself."

Opposite Brook Sedore, who leads the Warriors with 3.63 kills per set, missed Tuesday’s practice because of flu-like symptoms. He practiced the past two days and is expected to start on Friday.

Ryan Leung, a fifth-year senior, is Sedore’s immediate backup.