Friday, February 14, 1997
M. VOLLEYBALL:
Waves outhit, outblock UCLA in three-game victoryBy Vytas
Mazeika
Daily Bruin Contributor
A tidal wave crushed the UCLA men’s volleyball team last
night.
The Pepperdine Waves left no doubt as to which was the better
team, dominating UCLA (5-3, 4-2 MPSF) in three quick games, 15-10,
15-5, 15-11.
Also sinking last night were the hopes that Al Scates, UCLA’s
head coach, would win his 900th match. Now Scates must wait until
at least Wednesday night, when UCLA plays against USC, before
recording his 900th victory.
The Waves (6-2, 4-1) outhit the Bruins .371 to .233. In Games 2
and 3, UCLA could only manage to hit a horrific .103 and .108,
respectively.
"For some reason they didn’t play as well as they are capable
of," Pepperdine head coach Marv Dunphy said.
UCLA also got outblocked 24-10 by Pepperdine. An ecstatic crowd,
which was chanting "U-suck-L-A" and "over-rated," rushed the floor
after the final kill.
Trouble began brewing when UCLA made 10 service errors in the
first game alone  they had 18 on the night.
By the end, the two most experienced players on the team, Tom
Stillwell and Paul Nihipali, were watching the match from the
bench.
A frustrated Nihipali finished with 32 kills but only hit .156.
Pepperdine’s George Roumain (34 kills) and Kevin Barnett (39) both
managed to outplay him.
"I played lke crap," Nihipali said.
Scates  deprived for the night of a chance at the 900 mark
 was more optimistic. When asked what would be different the
next time they played, Scates simply said, "The outcome."