Friday, 5/2/97 Lions hear Bruins roar Statistics can’t tell
entire story of Bruins’ epic semi-final victory
By Jennifer Kollenborn Daily Bruin Contributor COLUMBUS, Ohio —
Queen’s "We Will Rock You" left a winning subliminal message in the
minds of the UCLA men’s volleyball team Thursday night. The Bruins
rushed to the floor last night, warming up long before Penn State.
Consequently, the inspiring musical duet rang in the Bruin ears and
proved to hold a steadfast place on UCLA’s side of the net, as they
defeated Penn State in an epic five-game struggle. The Bruins came
into the NCAA semifinal match confident that they would defeat the
Nittany Lions to avenge its January loss to Penn State in the
Outrigger Invitational Tournament, and for good reason. Thursday
night’s victory proved that UCLA’s loss to Penn State in the
season’s opening contest was of little significance. In both
matches, the highest hitting percentage pulled the winning weight,
and UCLA had the anchor in Thursday night’s tug-of-war. The Bruins
outhit Penn State .350 to .315, guided by freshman Adam Naeve, who
slammed 28 kills at a .595 clip and added a team high of nine
blocks. He was followed by Paul Nihipali, who tallied 27 kills. "I
think that the main difference in tonight’s game was UCLA’s
hitting," Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik said. "UCLA hit better,
and we blocked pretty much the same (15 to 15.5)." In January, PSU
outhit the Bruins .358 to .258, when All-American Ivan Contreras
led the Lion attack with 26 kills. However, since January, UCLA has
progressed into an unstoppable squad, filling any blank spaces in
its lineup. And as a result, when the Bruins faced the Lions last
night, they were one conglomerate mass that Penn State could not
divide. "(Al Scates) always prepares his team very well, and they
always play their best at this time of the year," Pavlik said. "The
answer to UCLA’s intangible success is the confidence that Al gives
his team." And the music that flooded the stadium mirrored the
Bruins’ comfortable hitting gear, which the Lions tried to stop as
UCLA pedaled to victory in the NCAA semifinal game. After hearing
Kenny Loggin’s "Danger Zone" during a time-out when the Lions were
down 13-11 in Game 2, Penn State chased after the Bruins and Ivan
Contreras managed to sink his teeth into UCLA just in time, pulling
out a 15-13 win in the process. However, Contreras’ bite seemed to
anger the Bruins and inspired UCLA to show the Lions that they were
"Taking Care of Business" in Game 3 with a 15-4 sweep, led by the
Bruin serving trio: Tom Stillwell, Brandon Taliaferro and Trong
Nguyen. Echoing in St. John Stadium just before the final, Green
Day’s "Welcome to Paradise" proved to foreshadow the epiphany the
Bruins soon floated into. UCLA finally knocked Penn State out of
the Final Four in Game 5 when Queen’s "We Will Rock You" filtered
into the stadium as UCLA held a tenuous 6-5 lead. A confused Penn
State called a time-out, but UCLA, having heard the words, knew
exactly what they had to do. Scates confidently handed the ball to
Nguyen to serve in place of Stillwell. Nguyen – clicking his heels
three times – delivered three punishing serves, which led the
Bruins down the yellow brick road. The Bruins will find out
Saturday night against Stanford where exactly that road ends – in a
fantasy, or in a nightmare.