IRVINE “”mdash; In the press room following Saturday
night’s championship win, outside hitter Damien Scott was
asked for the key to the UCLA men’s volleyball team’s
turnaround against the 49ers. Scott had a terse but powerful
response: “Paul George.” Scott was referring to the
career effort of junior outside hitter Paul George after the Bruins
were thoroughly outplayed by Long Beach State in Game 1 of the MPSF
Championship. George led the Bruins with 16 kills, making 12 of
those after the team’s disappointing effort in Game 1. George
was second on the team with two blocks, and second with 18
receptions. “He completely changed our mentality,”
Scott said. “He started hitting the ball as hard as he could
and got us fired up with his emotion.” An example of
George’s value is one stretch during Game 2. The Bruins were
down 24-25, and George came in with three straight serves,
including one ace, that gave the Bruins a commanding 27-25 lead
they would never give up. “I was just in a rhythm, and we got
a few fortunate points,” George said. “I knew that we
definitely did not want to fall down 2-0.” George’s
effort provided the difference against the 49ers, but it
wasn’t always this easy for the redshirt junior from
Chatsworth. He had only played in 11 matches total prior to this
season, and was playing opposite at the beginning of the season, a
position he was not accustomed to. “Even during those trying
times, I always kept the belief,” George said. “I knew
I had the talent, but I just needed the opportunity.” That
opportunity has certainly come. After playing in all the
Bruins’ 33 regular-season matches, George led the team in
kills for the first time in his career in Thursday’s match
against Pepperdine. Then he accomplished the same feat against the
49ers on Saturday. “His play has improved so much ““
it’s night and day,” UCLA coach Al Scates said.
“I wish he could have played like this earlier in the season,
but who cares? He’s playing exceptional right now.”
George now knows that he will ultimately be judged by the same
standard all other UCLA volleyball players are judged ““ by
their ability to win a national title. “I’m not taking
anything for granted,” George said. “I know how hard we
have come to get here, and I just want to take advantage of the
opportunity.”
UCLA RECEIVES NO. 2 SEED: On Sunday, the NCAA
men’s volleyball selection committee selected UCLA as the No.
2 seed for this week’s Final Four. UC Irvine, meanwhile, was
given the at-large bid and No. 1 seed as it had the league’s
best record during the regular season. On Thursday UCLA will be
facing No. 3-seeded Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne, which won the
Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association’s automatic
bid. The host of the Final Four, Penn State, was given the No. 4
seed for winning the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association
tournament title. “We know that both of the East Coast teams
are tough,” Scott said. “But our ultimate goal is to
play Irvine. We have lost twice to them this year, but Long Beach
beat them pretty well on Thursday, so we know they are
beatable.”
PRO-UCLA CROWD: Saturday’s match against
Long Beach was expected to feature a throng of 49er fans after they
outnumbered Irvine’s fans in Thursday’s semifinal match
on Irvine’s home court. But to the surprise of even the Bruin
players, UCLA fans came out in full fashion on Saturday. At least
40 percent of the 2,800 fans in attendance supported UCLA, and
members of the Bruin Den were in attendance. “They were
definitely a huge factor,” Scott said. “Our team loves
to feed off the energy of the crowd, and we’re surprised
there were so many of them out here.”