Like a halo crowning the arena, a rainbow arched above the Stan
Sheriff Center in Hawaii before the championship match against the
Warriors at the Outrigger Hotels Invitational in 2002. But the UCLA
men’s volleyball team didn’t let the damp weather rain
on its parade, nor did the Bruins let the Hawaiian sign of good
fortune seal their fate. Instead, the Bruins swept the University
of Hawai’i Warriors in convincing fashion, 31-29, 30-18,
30-26, and won its fifth consecutive championship title. After
UCLA’s dominating performance, the Bruins were not rewarded
with another invite and were washed back to the cold California
coast. Now, after an absence of three years from the Outrigger
Invitational, the Bruins return to the Aloha State vying for their
sixth tournament title. “I like going to this
tournament,” UCLA coach Al Scates said. “I think three
intense matches, large crowd … it’s a good situation. It
helped us get ready for the season.”
Back … finally The Bruins have had more than
their fair share of island life. Since 1995, UCLA has traveled to
Hawaii every January to compete in the Outrigger Invitational
““ up until 2002. UCLA was not invited back in 2003, 2004 or
2005. “Because of the configuration (of the Mountain Pacific
Sports Federation schedule), we’re always going to play
(UCLA) twice,” Hawaii coach Mike Wilton said. “We
wanted to explore international teams coming to the
tournament.” UCLA’s coaches suggested other reasons for
Wilton’s decision to not invite the Bruins back. “I
think it has a lot to do with the fact that we were winning the
tournament,” UCLA assistant coach Brian Rofer said. UCLA won
the Outrigger title in 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2002. In the
intervening years, the Bruins placed second. “They might have
felt it was giving us a recruiting advantage maybe, you know,
(since) we were going there every year. (Wilton) also changed the
format where he just wanted to play the teams that were the three
in the (previous year’s NCAA) final four. But it’s not
really a big deal. It’s their tournament, and they can invite
whoever they want,” Rofer added. UCLA was eliminated in the
first round of the MPSF postseason tournament in 2002, and Scates
experienced his first losing-record season in 2003. The Chinese
national team and the University of Manitoba (Canada) were invited
to the tournament in 2003 and 2004, respectively, to fill the spot
that no longer belonged to UCLA. Although the international teams
gave a new flavor to the Outrigger, Wilton was not completely
satisfied and opted to return to an all-collegiate format.
“Everybody was tanking the match,” Wilton said.
“The match (against the non-conference international teams)
didn’t count on the (U.S. teams’) season record and so
teams were playing their second teams. I wanted to have
all-collegiate teams this year. We always try to make this
(tournament) a challenge.”
A prestigious tournament Traditionally, the
University of Hawai’i invites the previous season’s
conference champions to participate in the three-day round-robin
tournament. The top team from each of the three major conferences
““ the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, the
Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and the MPSF
““ would join Hawai’i in the annual tournament.
“It’s probably the best tournament in men’s
volleyball,” Rofer said. “It has everything that an
NCAA Tournament has except for the atmosphere of the finals.”
“The Outrigger tournament and the Santa Barbara tournament
are the standards in men’s volleyball,” said John
Speraw, a former UCLA assistant coach who currently coaches at UC
Irvine. The Outrigger Invitational is one of the few opportunities
that teams have to play non-conference matches during the season.
During UCLA’s three-day trip to the island of Oahu, the
Bruins will face the teams that they will be competing with for the
lone NCAA at-large bid: Pennsylvania State and Ohio State.
“These matches are extremely important,” Scates said.
“A win against both of the East and Midwest powers could be
the determining factor in whether we are playing in the NCAA
Tournament come May. “Of course, we’d also like the
at-large bid to come from our (MPSF) conference.”
Business before pleasure Though the tournament
will be held in a place often called “paradise,” the
Bruins will not be visiting the beaches. When they arrive in
Honolulu on Tuesday night, they will practice. The next morning,
they will practice from 8 to 10, and then have a video session from
11 a.m. to noon. Next, they will have a meeting with Rofer to
discuss the game plan, and then it’s straight to the pregame
meal. For the Bruins, it will be all work and no play.
“It’s pretty much a no-pleasure trip,” senior
setter Dennis Gonzalez said. “It’s a business trip
““ it’s all film, eating and playing.”
“Teams that hang out on the beach and enjoy the sun usually
start off strong and then lose their next couple of matches,”
Scates added. “On our team, nobody better show up
sunburned.”
An atmosphere rich with tradition Much of the
excitement for this week’s match between UCLA and
Hawai’i stems from the historic rivalry between the two
teams. They have been playing each other since men’s
volleyball became an NCAA sport in 1970, and few events have
matched their rivalry. In 2000, UCLA outside hitter Ed Ratledge
nearly started a fight between the two teams when he stepped on the
hand of Rainbow setter Stefan Krejci during warm-ups. In 2002, more
fuel was added to the fire when Scates referred to the
Hawai’i mascots as “five Samoan warriors with spears
running around.” Scates later offered an apology for the
remark, but the intensity between the schools still remains.
“Hawai’i is always a fun place to play,” Scates
said. “Both teams like to beat each other, and their fans
like to get riled up. Its just a great environment.”
Hawai’i fans, many equipped with their own yellow-and-red
penalty cards, always come out in full force for rivalry games
against UCLA. “It’s always hyped up a little for both
teams right now,” said Hawai’i libero Alfred Reft.
“I think people just know that it’s going to be a good
volleyball game,” Rofer said. “That is what makes it a
big deal. They have a strong volleyball program and they know UCLA
has a strong volleyball program. Whenever we play Hawai’i
there, it’s always a big game.”
The effect of UCLA’s return Without the Bruins in the
tournament for the past three years, the Outrigger Invitational has
endured a blow to its attendance. “The last time we were
there in 2002, over 7,800 people watched us play,” Scates
said. “I think the attendance the last year for the finals
was in the 4,000s. When we were coming, it was around the 8,000s. I
think the people like to see us lose. So I think they’ll come
out to cheer Hawaii on.” Unlike many of the small gyms on the
mainland in which volleyball matches are held,
Hawai’i’s Stan Sheriff Center can seat as many as
10,000 spectators. “It’s a lot like Pauley Pavilion:
It’s big and there’s room to run the ball down;
there’s some great rallies there,” Scates said.
“It’s awesome,” said outside hitter Damien Scott.
“It’s almost like a football stadium, for volleyball.
It’s a big dome and … they usually pack it out.”
Senior David Russell is the only member of the current UCLA squad
who was part of the 2002 Outrigger title team. “There’s
no place I’ve seen that had 8,000 people sitting in the
stands,” Russell said. “It’s like 9,000
people/10,000 people just like watching a volleyball match,”
Gonzalez said. “(It’s) unseen in any (other) state in
the United States.”
With reports from Sagar Parikh, Bruin Sports senior
staff.