The UCLA men’s volleyball team might not have won the
Husky Dino Cup in Calgary, but who really cares?
Not necessarily coach Al Scates, who, after all, already has
enough memorabilia to decorate his office and has another NCAA
title in sight.
“I explained to the team that we try to win, but the fact
is that I just went through the list, saw who hasn’t started
yet and gave those players a look,” Scates said.
“It’s hard to do both.”
All 14 traveling Bruins got playing time, and they did some
winning, too, going undefeated in three pool play matches before
falling in Saturday night’s gold medal match 31-29, 25-22,
27-25 to Trinity Western.
Freshman opposite hitter Steve Klosterman had a team-high 13
kills in the final and earned all-tournament team honors, as did
senior libero Adam Shrader, who recorded 10 digs.
Junior Allan Vince, after making the position switch to middle
blocker, also had a standout tournament. His seven-kill
performances on Friday against Pacific and Thursday against
Calgary, hitting .700 and .583, respectively, turned some
heads.
“Allan played very well,” Scates said. “He had
a great tournament. He’s definitely in the mix for middle
blocker.”
UCLA beat MPSF foe Pacific 21-25, 25-16, 25-23, 17-25, 15-11
behind senior J.T. Wenger’s 14 kills and nine from Jonathan
Acosta. Later that day, the Bruins, led by Klosterman’s 11
kills (.320), beat Trinity Western 25-20, 27-25, 26-24 in a pool
play match.
UCLA upended host Calgary 25-23, 28-26, 25-21 behind
Acosta’s 11 kills to open the tournament.
Ңbull;Ӣbull;Ӣbull;
UCLA great Sinjin Smith was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of
Fame in Holyoke, Mass. on Friday. Smith starred as a Bruin from
1976-79, winning two NCAA titles and two All-America honors and
made his name with a 23-year professional beach volleyball
career.
Previous inductees include Scates and UCLA women’s coach
Andy Banachowski.