Monday, April 22, 1996
Spikers demoralize Tigers, CSUN next for No. 3 BruinsBy Ruben
Gutierrez
Daily Bruin Staff
Many times this season, as setter Stein Metzger and opposite
hitter Paul Nihipali have gone, so have the Bruins. Saturday night
was no exception. With Nihipali neutralizing Pacific’s Greg Wakeham
 who entered the match as the top hitter in the country
 the rest of the Bruins finished off the Tigers, 15-4, 15-13,
15-2 to advance to the second round of the Mountain Pacific Sports
Federation playoffs.
"I put Nihipali on Wakeham and Wakeham had more hitting errors
than our whole team," UCLA head coach Al Scates said. "He was in
the hitter’s face the whole night and just really intimidated
them."
For the second time in as many matches, UCLA (22-5 overall)
undressed its opponent, methodically hammering away at the Tigers,
save for a lapse in game two.
Wakeham recorded six more errors than kills to tally a negative
hitting percentage as UCLA out-hit Pacific .370 to .042. The Bruins
put the roof up liberally all evening as well, out-blocking UOP
17-2.
The outlook was optimistic for UOP (17-10 overall) at the
outset. Before fans at Pauley Pavilion could even take their seats,
the Tigers had jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first game. Whatever
Scates told his players during a prompt UCLA timeout evidently
worked, because the Bruins stormed back from the timeout break to
take a 7-3 advantage.
UOP scored only once more in the game, then it was all UCLA. The
game ended with senior swing hitter Matt Taylor calling for the
ball, getting the set and pounding Pacific with the put-away.
Taylor once again put on a superlative performance as well,
recording a match-high 13 kills and a team-high eight digs. Numbers
do not do Taylor’s defensive effort justice though. All night,
Taylor flew around the court, putting the ball back into play with
acrobatic efforts.
"Another big factor for us lately has been Matt Taylor stepping
in when Fred Robins got hurt," Metzger said. "There has been no
drop at the swing hitters position. Taylor is playing awesome."
It was the Bruins who came out roaring in the second stanza,
taking a commanding 7-1 lead early in the game. The Tigers
responded this time, taking a 10-9 advantage over the Bruins.
At that juncture, Scates decided to rest quick hitter James
Turner in favor of substitute Dan Farmer. The explosive Farmer
provided an immediate spark to UCLA, putting away a quick set kill
to end a UOP scoring run, then going up for a solo swat to tie the
game at 10. At game point, Farmer won the joust at the net with
Tiger setter Russell Gan to put the Bruins up 2-0 in the match.
The next game was an exercise in futility for UOP. The harmless
Tigers, dejected by the fact that their season would soon be over,
scored only twice, cutting the lead to 11 at 13-2. After exchanging
several sideouts, Tiger hitter Sam Crosson sent one long for
another to set up match point. Turner and Taylor combined for a
block to end the match.
UCLA will face Cal State Northridge in the MPSF semifinals next
weekend in Hawaii. The Matadors advanced by upsetting No. 2 Long
Beach State in the first round. UCLA has swept CSUN in both
meetings this season.
The Bruins will likely face Hawaii should they advance to the
MPSF finals. UCLA is 1-2 against the top-ranked Rainbows this
year.
"The playoffs mean everything to UCLA," Metzger said. "Our
record will always get us to the playoffs, so it’s all about
performing when it comes down to the wire. Traditionally at UCLA,
winning is winning it all, and losing is coming in second or
worse."
***
Penn State defeated Princeton, 17-15, 15-6, 15-8, qualifying to
represent the East in the NCAA Championships May 2-4 at Pauley
Pavilion. Lewis University was a surprise victor over Ball State,
4-15, 15-12, 15-6, 15-12. Lewis will be making its first trip to
the NCAAs, while the Nittany Lions will be returning for the sixth
straight time.
SCOTT O/Daily Bruin
Paul Nihipali shut down Pacific’s Greg Wakeham forcing him to
hit six more errors than kills on Saturday.