One is 5-feet-6 and one of the shortest players on the Pepperdine women's volleyball team. The other is 6-5 and one of the tallest.

"Yeah, we definitely show the range of the team," said senior libero Kekai Crabbe — the shorter of the duo.

And while both personalities are just as different, Crabbe and junior middle blocker/outside hitter Lecca Roberts are equally looking forward to returning home to Hawai'i to open their volleyball season, when the 19th-ranked Waves play two matches against the University of Hawai'i this weekend.

"The last time I came here (as a sophomore) it was the first time my family got to see me play in college," said Crabbe, a 2003 Kamehameha graduate. "They can see how I've grown as a player."

Roberts, a 2004 Seabury Hall alum, is excited to return to Hawai'i after spending the summer in Malibu.

"Even if it isn't Maui, I can enjoy the weather, food and people — reboost for the fall," Roberts said.

Roberts and Crabbe say they are nothing alike except for a "general local style," according to Crabbe, but Pepperdine coach Nina Matthies can still find similarities.

"Both came with a really good sense of themselves, a great ease," she said. "They both have great confidence. Not cocky, but self-assured. They can talk to anyone; they are very outgoing. They are both giving, and great students."

Both starters last season, they are expected to play big roles again for the team this season.

Crabbe, one of the team's captains, has a "great Hawaiian spirit; she has her own little aura," Matthies said.

This summer, Crabbe trained with the U.S. A2 National team. Last season she was one of two players who saw action in all 31 matches, leading the team with 383 digs, an average of 3.55 per game.

She joined the team as a walk-on after falling in love with Pepperdine in intermediate school. But when it came time to join the team, Matthies initially discouraged her because it seemed like an ill fit.

Crabbe had never visited Pepperdine, and the school didn't have an engineering program, which she was interested in pursuing.

And Matthies didn't have a scholarship available.

But Crabbe was determined, and is "definitely happy with my experience."

Crabbe is taking prerequisite engineering classes at Pepperdine, then will likely finish up her engineering degree at Southern California or Washington University (Mo.).

"Since she's been here, I couldn't be happier," Matthies said. "She's my leader and I love her."

Matthies called Crabbe a "wonderful role model" and pointed to her work at Pepperdine's admissions office and as a teacher's assistant in the math department as part of the reason "she's well known on campus."

Roberts was an all-West Coast Conference honorable mention selection last season, starting 30 of 31 matches. She averaged 2.71 kills per game, with a .291 hitting percentage.

"(Roberts) has improved tremendously," Matthies said. "She worked hard on her game, mentally and physically. She's a dominating force on the net. You wouldn't know by her skills that she's 6-4, 6-5."

She had a rough start to her career at Pepperdine, breaking her ankle playing volleyball just three weeks before the start of training camp her freshman year.

"It gave me an understanding of how I could push myself and how well I could play in that situation," Roberts said.

College volleyball also helped "steady" Roberts, who admits to being a perfectionist. She's learning not to be so hard on herself when she does make mistakes.

Crabbe and Roberts both spoke of a greater appreciation of volleyball in their time at Pepperdine.

And Roberts has grown even more fond of Hawai'i's beaches in her time away.

"I can't stand the water here, it's disgusting," she said of the pristine beaches of Malibu. "The water is colder. The beaches are beautiful, but I don't know what it is about kelp. It's gross."

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.