Friday, 4/25/97 Bruins outgun Gauchos UCLA will face Stanford in
MPSF championship game after sweeping UCSB
By Jennifer Kollenborn Daily Bruin Contributor The UC Santa
Barbara Gauchos came into Thursday night’s MPSF semifinal game with
illusions of glory. However, when they left Pauley Pavilion after
the match against UCLA, all the glory belonged to the Bruins. The
assembly line known as the UCLA men’s volleyball team (23-3) swept
the Gauchos (17-9), 15-7, 15-11, 15-6 , and in the process, earned
a berth in the MPSF championship game Saturday night against
Stanford. To put it lightly, UCSB needed to take about 15 more time
outs, find a new outside quick hitter to replace Donny Harris, and
take two aspirin and call UCLA in the morning. The Bruins did not
expect an easy victory last night. Head coach Al Scates expected a
difficult match which would probably last the full duration of five
games. It was up to Paul Nihipali to contain the nation’s kill
leader Harris, while the other Bruin teammates shutdown feared
blockers Robert Treahy and Bob Hefty. The results: UCLA outhit the
Gauchos .358 to .197, and toppled over UCSB’s offense, allowing
Harris to hit a meager -.030. Starting from the very beginning,
when UCSB mishandled Fred Robbins’ scorching serve, it became
obvious that the Bruins would run away with victory. After the game
was tied at three, Ben Mosselle served up a winner and followed
with a kill. At this point, the Bruins sensed UCSB was losing
ground, and Tom Stillwell’s next four serves brought UCLA to a 9-3
lead. Stillwell finished with 10 kills at a .368 clip to go along
with nine digs and five blocks. Stillwell put the first game out of
reach when, at 11-6, he drilled two kills – both landing in the
hands of dumbfounded Gaucho players. Stillwell’s enthusiasm sparked
the other Bruins. At 12-7, behind the serving of Nihipali, the
Bruins scored the last three points, clinching the first game. In
the second game, All-American Nihipali found his zone, leaving UCSB
defenseless. Nihipali, who rang up a school record of 52 kills last
year against UCSB in the MPSF finals, tallied a team-high 23 kills.
He had 13 kills in the second game alone. "(Nihipali) started off
slow, it took him a game to get going, but once he found his
(zone), nothing could stop him," Scates said. His performance left
the Gauchos wide-eyed with mouths falling to the floor. "He played
outstanding, and our team could not seem to do anything to stop him
or UCLA," UCSB head coach Ken Preston said. Nihipali led the Bruins
in Game 3 as well, with the dynamic freshman duo Adam Naeve,
hitting .409, and Brandon Taliaferro, leading at .500, lending
great support. "This game was a mental challenge more than
anything," Nihipali said. "And we did very well. I’m just happy
that I’ll never have to play UCSB again, and this last time we
won." Saturday night’s championship match will begin at 7:30 in
Pauley Pavilion, with the winner automatically advancing to the
NCAA Final Four in Columbus, Ohio, next Thursday. And the loser?
Well, they’ll probably receive the at-large bid. XXXXXXXXXXX/Daily
Bruin Single line photo cutline. Single line photo cutline.