It turns out a broken mirror is worth only one year of bad luck,
not seven.
How else do you explain the return of the men’s volleyball
team to its rightful spot as the No. 1 team in the rankings.
Last year, UCLA had its worst season in history and was plagued
by injuries the whole year.
But the broken mirror at practice last year is only a byproduct
of what the team blames last season on.
And believe it or not, it’s the Wooden Center’s
fault.
“The floor was hard there,” said coach Al Scates.
“And we practice a lot of jumping.”
On top of the floor, space was limited, compared to the current
spacious practice court in the now-politically correct Student
Activities Center.
“It’s nice having your own gym,” senior
opposite hitter Marcin Jagoda said. “It’s also nice not
being kicked out of your own gym by a dance class.”
No kidding.
The team had to practice at the Wooden Center while the
Men’s Gym/Student Activities Center was being renovated last
season.
But could a practice gym be the main reason an annual
championship contender left the playoff picture for one season only
to return to No. 1 the very next year?
If the injuries really were because of the harder floors and
smaller gym (Scates said players routinely ran into walls,) the
Wooden Center really could’ve been the reason the team had
its worst year ever.
Either that, or the return to glory is simply the work of
Scates. The only person inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of
fame before retirement, Scates likely knows more about volleyball
than anyone on the planet.
He has never had a losing season.
And he’s been coaching here for 42 years.
Know that when I talk about the team’s worst year ever,
the Bruins went 15-14. But still, for a program that has won 18
NCAA Championships and is usually one of the top teams in the
country, 15-14 is awful.
Last year, Scates had to use most of his 30-man roster (only six
play at a time in volleyball) because of injuries. And, as Scates
said earlier this season, he’s used to only using his bench
“for mercy.”
This year has been a completely different story as the Bruins
appear to be the favorites to win the NCAA championship.
UCLA has just come off a stretch of winning three matches in
four days against three ranked teams ““ even with a new setter
in the lineup.
Yes, the volleyball setter is like the quarterback of the
offense, without all of the glory.
When the team can’t score in volleyball, you usually bench
the setter. If the setter does well, kills come easily for the
team.
An injury to Dennis Gonzalez has forced the team to adapt to a
new setter ““ Beau Peters.
“Beau Peters is capable of setting us to the
championship,” Scates said. “But ideally, you pick one
and have him play all year.”
The Bruins are also coming off a win ““ and almost two
““Â at the most difficult place to play in volleyball
““ Hawai’i’s Stan Sheriff Center.
In Hawaii, volleyball is a mainstream sport. Seven thousand
people showed up when UCLA beat Hawai’i two Saturdays ago.
The attendance at Pauley Pavilion has only reached four digits once
all year.
“Beating those guys in front of their crowd was a
tremendous achievement,” Scates said. “It’s a
great experience for this team to win in front of a lot of people
rooting for the other team.”
That place with a lot of people rooting for the other team
happens to be the host of this year’s NCAA Championships.
The way this team has been playing, I think they’ll be
there.
As long as the floor’s not too hard.
Quiñonez still calls Washington State to win the Pac-10
tournament. E-mail him at gquinonez@media.ucla.edu.