It was the MPSF semifinals, and the UCLA men’s volleyball
team was playing in the last place it wanted to be. On that
dreadful night in Provo, Utah, the Bruins were swept by Long Beach
State and booed off the court by the hometown Cougar fans, who were
still bitter at UCLA coach Al Scates’ accusations about the
eligibility of BYU’s players. This coming weekend, the No. 1
Bruins return for the first time this season to Smith Fieldhouse,
where the No. 3 Cougars expect a standing-room only crowd for their
biggest home match of the year. “We know they will pack about
5,500 people into an arena that should have a 3,000-person seating
capacity,” Scates said. “And they will have to reject
people at the door.” The players themselves have experienced
the atmosphere and are excited about it more than anything. Though
the Bruins have played in front of larger crowds before, the
atmosphere in Provo is unique. The Cougar fans have made a point to
single out the Bruins for the controversy surrounding last
year’s championship team and have added nothing but fire to
an already intense rivalry. “It will be absolutely
crazy,” senior Paul Johnson said. “It’s different
than any other crowd. “Their fans are so one-sided, and they
hate us so much because they blamed us for turning their players
in.” Recently, the Bruins have lost five straight matches to
the Cougars at Smith Fieldhouse, and their last victory came in
2001 in the conference tournament final. This time around, however,
the Bruins feel that the outcome will be different. “We
definitely didn’t like the taste that was left in our mouths
after last year’s match,” Johnson said. “We
expect this year’s match to be very different.”
RAISING A BANNER: If the Bruins needed any extra motivation, it
was announced Monday that BYU will honor last year’s national
championship team before the Friday’s match. Outside hitter
Joe Hillman, the center of BYU’s eligibility controversy last
season, as well as first-team All-Americans Carlos Moreno and
Fernando Pessoa, are expected to be in attendance. “It will
be a little added incentive,” Scates said. “But our
players will be prepared regardless.” All three of the
players are no longer members of BYU’s program, but they were
all integral parts of last year’s team that beat the
Bruins.