Who will start at setter for the UCLA men’s volleyball
team is anything but set. Who is currently the favorite after fall
practice concluded Friday is quite surprising. Sophomore Dennis
Gonzalez has temporarily moved ahead of his more highly touted
counterparts, sophomore transfer Beau Peters and true freshman
sensation Julio Acevedo. “Dennis will be starting if he comes
back (in the winter) and performs well,” Scates said.
“And I’m not going to be alternating setters.”
Scates said Gonzalez impressed while starting half the time during
last month’s Husky Dino Cup in Calgary and most recently in a
start against the Team Canada Masters on Nov. 7. Gonzalez, a Puerto
Rican native, has one career start to his credit, setting the
Bruins to a five-game loss against Lewis last season. By the end of
the season, however, Rich Nelson had regained his job, and Gonzalez
even fell behind backup Aaron Dodd. Now, out of all the setters on
the roster, Gonzalez has developed the best connection with the
middle blockers, which are key hitting positions for the UCLA
offense, according to Scates. “I’ve been working hard
for the spot, and I’m thankful the coaches are giving me the
chance,” Gonzalez said. “Every day practice is going
well for me.” Peters, who transferred from Long Beach State
this fall, also had a slight setback when it was recently
discovered that he would not be able to get a medical redshirt for
his freshman year. Scates said Peters indicated that Long Beach
filed the paperwork last season after he had injured an ankle.
“We called (Long Beach) and they said, “˜No
way,'” Scates said with a laugh. Scates would not rule
out Acevedo from starting, but said that both Gonzalez and Peters
are superior jump-setters at this point. Acevedo will redshirt the
season if he does not start. A starter won’t be named until
after a five-match Husky Invitational in Saskatchewan from Jan.
2-4, which concludes just five days before the Bruins open their
season at the Elephant Bar Invitational in Santa Barbara.
“There’s a lot of competition here,” Gonzalez
said. “You’ve got to do your work. Nothing is
safe.”
SIGNING DAY: UCLA did not have any full
scholarships to offer, but Scates was still able to sign three
local standouts to national letters of intent last week. Tony Ker,
a 5-foot-11 outside hitter/libero is a three-time Junior Olympics
All-American and led Valencia High School to a CIF Division II
championship this past year. “We’ll let him try out as
an outside hitter first,” Scates said. “We’re
pretty strong in that position, but he’s the kind of kid
that’s ready to compete with anybody.” Ker could also
play libero, a position UCLA will need to fill with the graduation
of senior Adam Shrader. With Chris Peña also set to graduate,
Scates signed two 6-foot-8 middle blockers, D.J. Stromath from Mira
Costa High School and Jamie Diefenbach of Newport Harbor. Stromath
has his own CIF championship ring, winning one in 2002, as well as
a gold medal from this year’s Junior Olympics.
BACK AT HOME: After two seasons of waiting, the
team finally returned to its traditional practice facility in the
newly renovated Student Activities Center (formerly Men’s
Gym) on Thursday. The small confines and hard floors of the Wooden
Center were not kind to the Bruins, who have noted that the number
of injuries increased in recent years. UCLA’s last fall
practice was held Friday, and practice will not resume until Dec.
29.