Friday, March 7, 1997
M. VOLLEYBALL:
Cardinal’s strength depends on hitting success of Mike LambertBy
Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Contributor
The No. 3 Stanford Cardinal will march into Pauley Pavilion
today with an Olympic caliber team.
Cardinal swing hitter Mike Lambert started for the 1996 Olympic
team. With playoff implications on the line against No. 5 UCLA
(10-3, 8-2, Mountain Pacific Sports Federations), Lambert brings a
wealth of experience to Stanford (9-2, 7-2 ), a team many predict
will win the national championship.
"Obviously it is a very big match for us," Lambert said. "UCLA
with (head coach Al) Scates coaching is the epitome of a team that
is always ready by the end of the season."
On Saturday the Bruins will also be hosting No. 9 Pacific (9-4,
4-4) in the Wooden Center at 7 p.m. But Scates is not looking
ahead. In fact, he is still recuperating from Tuesday’s five-game
victory that pitted UCLA against Lewis University (24-22 in the
fifth game).
"I have not looked at UOP this year," Scates explained. "Right
now I am concerned with Stanford. I did not even open the Stanford
file until (Wednesday) because I was very concerned with Lewis (on
Tuesday)."
Stanford returns four starting seniors: Lambert, Matt
Fuerbringer (opposite hitter), Michael Hoefer (middle blocker) and
Stewart Chong (setter). All this experience makes the Cardinal into
a potent offensive juggernaut.
"They are difficult to stop," Scates said. "Basically you have
to serve really tough and make them pass off the net so you do not
have to worry about their quick hitter. We are going to take some
(serving) errors, as long as some tough (serves) go in too."
Scates believes that although Stanford has dipped to No. 3 in
the rankings because of a couple of recent losses, they should be
No. 1.
"I voted this team number one all year," Scates said. "They have
the best personnel in the country. And probably the best starting
six in terms of experience."
Although Stanford may be a formidable opponent, they are not
invincible. Having lost already twice this season, Stanford will
depend on Lambert to carry a huge hitting load. But if he falters,
the Cardinal could be in trouble.
"An off night by Mike (Lambert) definitely affects our team,"
Ruben Nieves said. "But as the season goes on we have been able to
overcome bad nights by Mike (Lambert)."
On a side note, UCLA middle blocker Adam Naeve, sidelined
against Lewis because of the flu, is expected to play in the
Stanford game.
Stanford Sports Info
Stanford hitter Mike Lambert competed in the 1996 Olympics.