After a stint on the pine, Nihipali shines

After a stint on the pine, Nihipali shines

Sophomore opposite rises from bench to powerhouse status

By Eric Branch

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Lewis College head coach Dave Dueser had just finished watching
his team being wiped off the court last month by the top-ranked
UCLA men’s volleyball team. The 15-2, 15-2, 15-1 shellacking lasted
a grand total of 47 minutes, two minutes longer than the shortest
match in NCAA history.

Despite being witness to his own mauling, Dueser became
practically giddy when the subject of a player from the enemy side
came up in conversation. And no, it wasn’t 1994 AVCA Player of the
Year Jeff Nygaard. Instead Dueser talked of UCLA opposite Paul
Nihipali as if he had just seen the Messiah appear in volleyball
shorts.

"That guy is unstoppable," Dueser said. "He is the absolute
perfect specimen of a volleyball player. To be his size and to be
able to jump like he does is astonishing."

When told that the 6-foot-8-inch Nihipali and his 40-inch
vertical jump opened the season on the bench, Dueser responded
deliberately, perhaps pausing to pick his jaw off the court.

"What was the name of the guy playing ahead of him?
Superman?"

At the beginning of the ’95 season, Nihipali must have thought
the odds of getting back in the starting lineup would have been
better if Superman were playing opposite instead of fellow
sophomore Matt Noonan.

Noonan entered the season on a roll and Nihipali found himself
on the bench just one year after finishing fifth in the conference
in hitting percentage (.457) and blocking (1.6 bpg) while also
earning NCAA All-Tournament honors and finishing second in the
balloting for AVCA Freshman of the Year.

At any school, being relegated to the second team is disastrous,
however at UCLA the situation is more extreme. It’s a bit like
finding yourself in the nether reaches of Siberia. It’s easy to
become lost and ultimately be forgotten.

"The beginning of the year was the most frustrated I’ve ever
been while playing volleyball," Nihipali said. "I was trying to
start but I had to play against our first team everyday in practice
and they’re the best in the nation. I had Jeff Nygaard serving me
off the court and I was trying to hit through the best block in the
nation. I had some doubts about getting back in."

After breaking his jaw in the off-season Nihipali was out of
shape. Add the undesirable task of having to learn a new position
after playing in the middle during his freshman campaign and the
situation seemed hopeless. It appeared he had a better chance of
playing power forward on the basketball team.

"Noonan played great during our preseason tournament in Canada
and I really thought he would be playing opposite this season,"
UCLA head coach Al Scates said. "I was just hoping Paul would hit
well enough to play the position but he has really surpassed my
expectations. And quickly."

After sitting out the season-opening Santa Barbara tournament,
Nihipali played well enough during practice to share time at the
next tournament in Hawaii with Noonan. However, instant success was
not forthcoming. Nihipali managed 20 kills in two matches while
hitting a modest .235.

"It was kind of a weird feeling," Nihipali said. "I had always
felt comfortable going out and playing volleyball but I was
uncomfortable at the beginning of the season. There were definitely
some nerves because I wanted to stay in the lineup and I really
hadn’t got any reps from (setter) Stein (Metzger). Our timing was
way off."

Metzger agrees, citing Nihipali’s tremendous athleticism as
being part of the problem.

"I have to adjust my sets for different players," Metzger said.
"Paul hits the ball so incredibly high that I have to shoot the
ball above the antenna and he picks it off as it’s going by.
Whereas with the other hitters, I have it die right at the antenna.
So we had to adjust, but we’ve gotten through that."

The stat sheet would indicate that Nihipali and his setter are
now on the same page. Nihipali currently ranks among the conference
top 10 in kills (5.80 kpg) and hitting percentage (.383). He has
recorded 20-plus kills in eight matches and an over .500 hitting
percentage in four others.

Last weekend, the Esperanza High graduate was named MVP of the
UCLA Classic after blasting 52 kills in two wins.

"I’ve now got my timing down with Stein; right now I feel like
as much of a go-to hitter as anyone on the team," Nihipali said,
displaying a knack for understatement.

While Nihipali agrees that his defense could use some
improvement, most coaches around the conference wouldn’t change his
repertoire of shots, or lack thereof. At a firm 200 pounds,
Nihipali has all the finesse of a bull in a china shop.

"At the national level he will have to develop some more shots,"
UCSB head coach Ken Preston said. "But at the college level his
game of power, power, power can go a long way. With his size,
strength and jumping ability, not a lot of people are going to stop
him."

For Nihipali, the immediate future ­ as the go-to hitter on
a 22-1 team steaming towards a national title ­ now appears
bright. As for his career after college, his own coach, among many
others, feel a future on the national level is a foregone
conclusion.

It’s a long way from Siberia.