UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. “”mdash; In the second men’s
volleyball NCAA semifinal match last night, Penn State knocked the
lights out of top-seeded UC Irvine, literally.
With the Nittany Lions up 14-13 in the 15-point fifth game, the
lights in Penn State’s Rec Hall shorted out, silencing a home
crowd that had been in a frenzy moments earlier.
When the backup lights came on 10 minutes later, the crowd
resumed its cacophonous chants, and the Nittany Lions’
Steffin Rangel served an ace to complete the improbable victory for
fourth seeded Penn State, 32-30, 30-23, 31-33, 27-30, 15-13.
After a relatively calm crowd witnessed UCLA defeat
Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne in three straight games in the first NCAA
semifinal match, the atmosphere in the Rec Hall was transformed in
the second match as 3,430 fans, almost all supporting Penn State,
were on their feet chanting and cheering.
It is this daunting atmosphere that UCLA will walk into on
Saturday night when it faces Penn State for the NCAA
Championship.
“Tonight it was almost filled, but on Saturday it is going
to be standing room only and they are going to be much
louder,” UCLA coach Al Scates said. “This place will be
rocking.”
For the Bruins’ match, the Rec Hall was a neutral site, as
both UCLA and IPFW had about 50 fans in attendance.
But the Bruins got a picture of what is to come when they
witnessed the crowd’s wildness as the Nittany Lions surged
out to a 2-0 game lead and then came back to win in Game 5.
In Game 2, a wave circled through the entire stadium as UCI
appeared shaken by the strong play of the Nittany Lions and the
Penn State home support.
Throughout the match, chants of “We are Penn State”
filled the arena.
Even with such a hostile atmosphere awaiting them, the Bruins
are confident in their ability to capture the NCAA title on
Saturday.
Although Penn State may be one of the hardest places to play at,
the Bruins have played four matches at the loudest and most hostile
stadium in the nation: Hawai’i’s Stan Sheriff
Center.
“It’s going to be like playing in Hawai’i
because there are going to be thousands of people yelling at
us,” Scates said. “The home crowd definitely pumped the
team up, but we know what to expect.”
The Bruins believe their next match will be much like the last
time they faced Hawai’i. In the quarterfinals of the MPSF
tournament the Bruins beat the Warriors in front of 5,966 fans.
“The crowd does help the home team a lot, but we beat
Hawai’i in Hawai’i and we just don’t let them
affect us or get in our heads,” senior Damien Scott said.
IMPROBABLE FAN: In attendance at UCLA’s
NCAA semifinal victory over IPFW was a woman from UCLA rival
Hawai’i who Scates knows only as “Aunty.”
As Scates has traveled to the University of Hawai’i over
the years for volleyball matches, he has become friends with Aunty
despite knowing little about her.
Before the start of the match, Aunty gave Scates a purple lei,
which made for an interesting portrait of the coach during the game
as he paced the sidelines wearing a lei over his dress clothes.
“She called me over to her and gave me the lei and then
kissed me on top of my head just like she does in
Hawai’i,” Scates said. “It was special, and if
she gives me another lei on Saturday, I’m definitely going to
wear it for the match.”