Thursday, 4/24/97 Less than No. 1 not enough UCLA hungers for
win against UCSB despite closely matched records, skills
By Vytas Mazeika Daily Bruin Contributor Demanding more than a
ticket to the Final Four, the UCLA men’s volleyball team will not
be satisfied without a national championship this season. The
program has accounted for 16 of the last 27 NCAA championships. A
victory tonight against UC Santa Barbara in the second round of the
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation would put the Bruins one step
closer to their 17th national championship. Top-ranked UCLA (22-3)
will be almost guaranteed at least the at-large berth into the
Final Four should the Bruins lose in the MPSF championship. But
UCSB (17-8) will not just roll over. The Gauchos have played the
Bruins tough – tough enough that the two teams’ last three
encounters were decided in a fifth game. This season each team
defeated its foe on the road. UCSB won Jan. 31 at the Wooden
Center; UCLA claimed victory two weeks ago at Rob Gym. The most
crucial match involving these two powerhouses, however, came in
last year’s MPSF final. The Bruins, behind Paul Nihipali’s school
record 52 kills, won 15-13 in the fifth game. "(UCSB has) a lot of
motivation to pay us back," head coach Al Scates said. "They will
be ready. They know us, we know them … This could be the most
competitive match of the season for both teams." Scates expected to
play UCSB even before the first-round match against Pacific. In
fact, he handed out a scouting report on the Gauchos immediately
following Saturday’s three-game sweep over Pacific . UCLA must
contain senior Donnie Harris, UCSB’s main offensive threat, in
order to pull out the win. Harris is averaging an NCAA-leading 7.51
kills per game. Scates expressed concern over Harris’ abilities,
but he also said he trusted Nihipali to contain Harris. UCLA’s
other worry lies with the match-ups in the middle. UCLA boasts two
of the nation’s top-15 middle blockers in Tom Stillwell and Adam
Naeve, ranked 1st and 15th respectively. But the Gauchos have the
No. 4 blocker in the nation, Bob Hefty, along with No. 6 Rob
Treahy. "We usually dominate everybody else’s middle blockers,"
Scates explained. "But this is a pretty even match-up." Both teams
have everything to lose – their hopes for advancing into the Final
Four. Both need to be prepared for anything and everything. "The
whole team is ready," swing hitter Ben Moselle said. "We are
confident coming off the last win (against UCSB). And I think we
can only improve on how we played (that night)." Expectations will
be high on both sides. But UCLA will refuse to be satisfied with
anything but a victory. "I expect a tough match … and I expect to
win also," Scates said.