Monday, 5/5/97 Stanford defeats UCLA: 15-7, 15-10, 9-15, 6-15,
15-13 Junior quick hitter struggles, removed from title match
By Vytas Mazeika Daily Bruin Contributor COLUMBUS, Ohio —
Stanford’s job of stopping UCLA in the NCAA title match was made
easier when a slumping Tom Stillwell failed to produce. Stillwell,
a junior quick hitter who led all Bruin starters with a hitting
percentage of .402 before the Final Four, hit .250 in the semis
against Penn State and his percentage dipped to .000 in the final
before sophomore Danny Farmer came in to replace him. "He was
definitely in a slump," UCLA coach Al Scates said. Besides senior
opposite Paul Nihipali, the Bruins did not have a single player
with more than one year of experience starting in the college level
other than Stillwell. Needless to say, UCLA greatly needed
Stillwell – a two-year starter – to contribute in both matches in
order to win UCLA’s 17th NCAA men’s volleyball title. Needing to
help Stillwell regain his confidence, Scates went to work Friday
with his top quick hitter after surviving the five-game thriller
against Penn State on Thursday to advance to the final. The quick
hitters worked on their timing and techniques, but even after the
practice Scates noticed that something was still wrong with
Stillwell’s overall game. However, Stillwell was so important to
the team that Scates hoped he would bounce back by the time the
final came around. "His potential is so great (that) I went with
him to start the match," Scates said. "He has done such a great job
this year. But it was evident that (Brandon Taliaferro and
Stillwell) had lost the coordination between them." When the match
was over and four selected Bruins met for the post-match press
conference, true-freshman setter Taliaferro took a lot of the blame
for Stillwell’s struggles. "I think it was the setting mostly,"
Taliaferro said. "He and I were not connecting. I was too slow
getting the ball out of my hands. A lot of his faults (were) a lot
of my problems." Although Taliaferro admitted to influencing
Stillwell’s struggling performance, the freshman setter should not
have the blame fall on his shoulders. Stillwell’s troubles were not
only mental in the connection with Taliaferro, but also physical as
well, as Scates pointed out. "He was having a hard time," Scates
said. "I thought he was broad jumping too much instead of vertical
jumping." Stillwell’s play forced Scates’ hand by Game 3 against
Stanford. In eight kill attempts, Stillwell had two kills and two
errors adding up to a .000 hitting percentage. Also, he was not
blocking efficiently. Though he had three block assists, the NCAA
block-per-game leader at 1.888 bpg had three of UCLA’s five block
errors. Stillwell’s game was off and Scates had to substitute Danny
Farmer for the struggling star. "Tom wasn’t producing," Scates
said. "He was off his game and I couldn’t wait much longer." Maybe
next season as a senior Stillwell will be able to rebound and make
up for his less-than-stellar performance on the weekend of May 1
and maybe next season Taliaferro and he will be connecting in the
Final Four. Maybe next season UCLA will be crowned NCAA champions.
But for now Stanford is No. 1 and next season is a long time away.
Previous Daily Bruin stories: Bruins trample Loyola Marymount,
April 3, 1997