Spikers defeat Cougars
After losing first two games, Bruins pull off 15-11 win
By Ruben Gutierrez
Daily Bruin Staff
It was cold and wet outside Pauley Pavilion last night, but the
indoor hardwood was the site of a five-game barnburner between No.
2 UCLA and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation nemesis, BYU.
With the partisan audience holding their collective breath, the
Bruins (16-3 overall, 11-2 MPSF) edged the upstart Cougars (6-6
overall, 6-6 MPSF) 15-11 in the rally-point fifth game to take the
match.
UCLA didn’t get those kinds of breaks all evening, though. After
the Bruins handed them a humiliating 15-2, 15-10, 15-10 waxing on
Tuesday night, the Cougars showed up to play. They played to win
through the duration of the match, beating UCLA in nearly every
statistical category except the one on the scoreboard.
For the first two games, however, BYU stunned the Bruins,
winning them 15-11 and 15-9.
"They played better tonight, they played a lot better," UCLA
head coach Al Scates said. "But we sucked it up. It’s great to play
these five-game matches. This is what we needed to do, to get
involved in a few of these."
The third game began as a neck-and-neck battle, but the Bruins
went on a five-point run to break it open with the game tied at
six. UCLA prevailed 15-11 to prevent the unthinkable sweep.
The Bruins came out firing in the next stanza, scoring two
points while the echo from the opening whistle still rang in the
air. The Cougars weren’t about to roll over, though, and came back
to take a 5-3 lead. The teams deadlocked at six apiece, then nine,
before UCLA again pulled it together late, to take a commanding
14-9 lead before winning by an identical 15-11 score.
There are no sideouts in the rally-point fifth game so every
play counted. The two squads again gave the crowd their money’s
worth, deadlocking at eight. With the game as close as Siamese
twins at 12-11, the Bruins separated themselves, taking the game
and match by yet another 15-11 score with freshmen roommates Fred
Robins and Dan Farmer closing the match with two straight
roofs.
"They were just calm the whole time," said Cougar freshman
Oswald Antonelli, who had a match-high 34 kills. "We got out of
control in the last game."
By inserting Farmer for senior quick hitter Jason Harper, Scates
made a calculated move that paid big dividends late in the match.
Besides combining with Robins for two blocks to end the game,
Farmer opened up the scoring for UCLA with a quick-set kill
followed by a solo block.
"Boy, he just gave us a breath of life when he came in," Scates
said. "He kind of turned things around. He’s a great athlete, and
he’s so positive out on the court. He’s just a true
freshman."Comments to webmaster@db.asucla.ucla.edu