When senior Dennis Gonzalez steps on the court at the NCAA
Championships on Thursday, it will not be his first time starting
for the Bruins. Gonzalez, after all, has been the men’s
volleyball team’s primary starting setter for the past three
seasons and is one of the top setters in the Mountain Pacific
Sports Federation. But in a way, it will seem as if Gonzalez is
walking onto the court for the first time ““ he now has the
opportunity to make up for last year’s NCAA Championships,
which he was forced to sit out of with a broken finger.
“It’s just a blessing,” Gonzalez said of his
second chance. “To be able to participate and contribute to
my team, I’m just so fortunate. “After the way we
started this year, I didn’t know whether I would be able to
have that chance again.” Gonzalez knows the importance of
each and every last game more than anyone because he almost did not
have the chance to participate on this year’s Final Four
team. Gonzalez sat out six matches earlier this season with an
ankle injury and lost his starting job midway through the season to
freshman Matt Wade. But Gonzalez did not get discouraged by his
limited playing time. “I knew that if I kept working hard and
just recovered from the injury, everything would be fine,”
Gonzalez said. “Its my senior year, so I knew I had to do
everything I could.” Gonzalez has certainly taken advantage
of his opportunity to be back. He made his first start in 12
matches last Thursday against Pepperdine in the MPSF semifinals and
led the Bruins to two of their best hitting performances of the
year while helping the Bruins capture their improbable conference
championship. In both matches, the Bruins converted points on more
than 50 percent of Gonzalez’s sets. “Dennis has just
been doing an awesome job lately,” coach Al Scates said.
“We knew we had a capable replacement in Matt, but he just
doesn’t have the experience Dennis does.” “Dennis
is a very knowledgeable player out there on the court.” While
Gonzalez has sometimes been overshadowed by the likes of Long Beach
State senior Tyler Hildenbrand and Pepperdine sophomore Jonathan
Winder, both of whom were named to the All-MPSF teams this season,
Gonzalez knows his job is simple. He doesn’t play beyond his
role. “We have some great talent on our team,” Gonzalez
said. “So I know if I put the ball out there for them, they
will go out there and hit it. “They are the ones that deserve
the credit.” But if Gonzalez and his teammates can find a way
to win two more matches, it won’t matter who deserves the
credit. All the Bruins, including Gonzalez, will be national
champions. “Its just crazy to think about it,” Gonzalez
said. “I can’t wait.”
IPFW STREAKING: UCLA’s opponent for
Thursday, Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne, has won 21 of its past 22
matches and come in on fire for the semifinal matchup. The
Mastodons, the champions of the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball
Association, are making their fifth trip to the NCAA Championships,
their most recent trip coming in 1999. The Mastodons are led by
senior middle hitter Serdar Sikca and sophomore opposite CJ Macias,
both of whom were first team MIVA selections. “We
haven’t watched any tape of them, but I’m sure they
will be tough,” sophomore libero Tony Ker said. “I know
Macias is their go-to hitter, and we will most likely be focusing
on him.”
KER SELECTED: Ker was selected out of 300
athletes to represent UCLA at the 10th annual NCAA Leadership
Conference, held in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. from May 28 to June
1.