M. volleyball goes in for kill, comes out on top against San
Diego schools
Impressive play by Nihipali, Metzger secure UCLA wins
By Ruben Gutierrez
Daily Bruin Staff
Although it has been cliche for decades, the old adage "You
can’t judge a book by its cover" is often no truer than in athletic
competition.
Saturday night, the No. 4 UCLA (5-2 overall, 3-1 Mountain
Pacific Sports Federation) men’s volleyball team received an early
scare, dropping their first game to perennial MPSF doormat UC San
Diego (0-7, 0-6) 15-5. The Bruins sleepwalked through an anemic
first game, at one point trailing the Tritons 14-2 after three
straight ace serves by UCSD’s Matt Riley. Then, UCLA head coach Al
Scates went to his bench, inserting freshman Fred Robins and
unloading his big gun, All-American opposite Paul Nihipali.
Nihipali proved to be a slap in the face, a cold shower and a
cup of coffee all rolled into one, and UCLA never again trailed in
the final three games. In those three the junior put away a
team-high 15 kills on 22 attempts to record an awesome .636 attack
percentage, while also dominating the net for the duration of the
match.
"In that first game, we didn’t block and that gave their hitters
a lot of confidence," Scates said. "We couldn’t stop their big
hitter, No. 12 (Tom Black) and so they wound up going to him.
That’s when I put in Paul to shut him down and that’s exactly what
he did."
With Nihipali in, UCLA won the final three games, whipping the
Tritons 15-2, 15-4, 15-3. Robins also contributed 11 kills, hitting
.556 on the evening. Nihipali himself saw no reason for the
stunning loss in the first game. For a Bruin team which largely dug
its own hole by playing down to the Tritons’ level in game one,
Nihipali provided the spark befitting the defending NCAA
champions.
"I didn’t want to play to the level of our opponents," Nihipali
said. "I don’t mean to put those guys down, but they’ve been a
cellar team for years now. (The first game) was a fluke, but UCSD
takes a game from us every year. If that’s going to happen, we
might as well let them have the first one, then get down to
business."
UCLA owned the net again this weekend, continuing a season-long
trend of convincingly outblocking the opposition. In the absence of
quick hitter James Turner, senior Jason Harper has carved a niche
for himself as a blocker.
"Harper was the best blocker this weekend," Scates said. "He’s a
fifth-year senior who has never started before and is playing
because of Turner’s injury. He was battling (Dan) Farmer for that
other quick spot, and now he’s beaten him out."
Friday night, UCLA cakewalked over San Diego State 15-5, 15-10,
15-3. The Bruins were led by opposite Matt Noonan’s 13 kills and
.550 attack percentage. Ironically, it was Noonan who Nihipali
replaced on Saturday, illustrating the depth of the Bruin squad.
Swing hitter Brian Wells also added 13 kills to pace the Bruins.
The determining factor in the outcome, though, was the setting of
team captain Stein Metzger.
"Stein called a brilliant match against San Diego State," Scates
said. "We hit .450 as team against them. Stein gave us a lot of
one-on-one situations and sometimes some none-on-ones."
(Paul) Nihipali proved to be a slap in the face, a cold shower
and a cup of coffee all rolled into one.
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