M. volleyball to face cowardly Lions
By Ruben Gutierrez
Daily Bruin Staff
The UCLA men’s volleyball team rides a three-match winning
streak into tonight’s contest against Loyola Marymount, but much
more significant is its winning streak in the series: the Bruins
are undefeated in 49 meetings with the Lions.
There is little reason to believe cellar-dwelling LMU (2-10
overall, 0-7 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) will rewrite
history tonight. Though Loyola boasts what UCLA assistant coach
Brian Rofer considers an "outstanding recruiting class," its roster
is rife with young players, athletes who one day may blossom in
that program, but lack experience. Defending NCAA champion UCLA
(7-2, 3-1) figures to give them a quick education tonight.
"They’ve got some young guys carrying a lot of the load," Rofer
said. "They’re going to make the kind of mistakes that freshmen
make. They’re going to get better. They’ve done a good job
recruiting down there."
One of those strong Lion recruits is freshman Robert Schildts.
On a Loyola team lacking in size, Schildts has been somewhat of a
role player, moving from his natural outside hitter position to
middle blocker for the Lions. However, he has emerged as the team’s
best blocker.
"They have some smaller players," Rofer said. "They have trouble
hitting. Hopefully, with us being one of the top blocking teams in
the country, that will cause some problems for them."
Defending a national title is no easy task though and the Bruins
acknowledge their status as marked men in the world of collegiate
volleyball, no matter who takes to the hardwood against them.
"Whenever you put on the UCLA letters, you’re expected to uphold
a certain level of competition," Rofer said. "You’re expected to
play regardless of your opponent. If your opponent isn’t that good,
you’re expected to crush them. If they are good, you’re still
expected to beat them. It’s a mental thing for our players, too, to
want to play every match."Comments to
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