Trojans unravel in Pauley
No. 1 volleyball falls behind, but comes back to win
By Eric Branch
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Three times Saturday night in Pauley Pavilion the No. 11 USC
men’s volleyball team had top-ranked UCLA on the ropes. And three
times the Trojans took a mighty swing and an equally mighty fall,
finally succumbing to the Bruins 15-13, 15-13, 15-11 in the first
round of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs.
USC held leads of 13-11, 8-2 and 11-9 in games one through
through three respectively before collapsing like a pup tent down
the stretch.
"We shot ourselves in the foot at the end of each game and
(UCLA) showed more poise and patience," USC head coach Jim
McLaughlin said. "We just unraveled."
While the Trojans (11-14 overall) were busy falling apart, the
Bruins (27-1) made adjustments, keying on Trojan senior
All-American hitter Jason Mulholland (24 kills) during crunch
time.
"At the end of each game we knew the ball was going to
Mulholland," UCLA head coach Al Scates said. "So we made sure we
had two blockers on him."
Scates made another adjustment during the match, substituting
junior swing hitter Brian Wells for starter Kevin Wong in the first
game after Wong struggled with his passing.
Wells, playing in just his eighth match of the season, responded
by posting 10 kills, seven digs and a .368 hitting percentage after
a less than glorious start.
"He was a little shaky when he first came in," junior setter
Stein Metzger said. "But after he shanked a few balls he settled
down. He was passing and hitting real well which helped because
some other guys were struggling tonight."
Up 14-11 in the third frame the Bruins’ two hour struggle ended
as opposite Paul Nihipali (21 kills) crushed a Metzger back set
down the line to send UCLA to next weekends regionals in Pauley
Pavilion.
The winner of the MPSF tournament receives an automatic bid to
the NCAA final four which will be held May 5-6 in Springfield,
Mass.