The UCLA men’s volleyball team had to reinvent its identity this year after losing six of seven starters from the previous season, and often struggled with inexperience. But the Bruins ultimately managed to overcome their challenges and string together 14 consecutive wins, capturing the NCAA Championship last weekend at Penn State. With three starters returning […]
Author Archives: Michael Wozny
“˜Unbelievable’
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. “”mdash; The comeback is complete. The UCLA men’s volleyball team claimed its 19th NCAA Championship on Saturday with a 3-0 victory over host Penn State to finish one of the most improbable title runs in volleyball history. Less than two months ago, the Bruins were ninth in their conference, but since then […]
Gonzalez secures the answer to his prayers
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. “”mdash; Surrounded by players celebrating their win in the men’s volleyball NCAA Championship last Saturday, UCLA redshirt senior Dennis Gonzalez quietly walked to the edge of the court and got on his knees to reflect and pray. “Even with everything going on around me, I wanted to give thanks to God for […]
MIT volleyball players go the distance to cheer Bruins to title
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. “”mdash; The UCLA men’s volleyball team’s remarkable road to the NCAA Finals was impressive enough to persuade several MIT students to make the trip to Penn State. Five members of the MIT volleyball team journeyed eight hours to witness UCLA defeat Penn State for the Bruins’ record 19th NCAA Championship. “UCLA volleyball […]
[Online Exclusive]: UCLA faces Penn State for NCAA Championship with a different look
UNIVERSITY PARK , Pa. ““- It’s been 24 years, but UCLA men’s volleyball coach Al Scates can vividly remember the only other time the Bruins traveled to Penn State to face the Nittany Lions in the NCAA Tournament. In 1982, an undefeated UCLA squad swept Penn State to claim the national championship in front of […]
Bruins one away from the title
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ””mdash; The UCLA men’s volleyball team so thoroughly dominated its competition Thursday night that NCAA officials tested the players for performance-enhancing drugs. Redshirt senior Damien Scott, redshirt junior Paul George and freshman Ian Jackson were randomly chosen in the first steroids test the NCAA has done for men’s volleyball in four years. […]
Passionate home crowd ready for UCLA
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. “”mdash; In the second men’s volleyball NCAA semifinal match last night, Penn State knocked the lights out of top-seeded UC Irvine, literally. With the Nittany Lions up 14-13 in the 15-point fifth game, the lights in Penn State’s Rec Hall shorted out, silencing a home crowd that had been in a frenzy […]