Kilgour Cup salutes athlete’s contributions to volleyball

Kilgour Cup salutes athlete’s contributions to volleyball

Bruins meet Waves to raise funds for former All-American

By Ruben Gutierrez

Daily Bruin Staff

College students often take their health, if not their lives,
for granted. Some advance into old age, or even live their entire
lives convinced of their own invincibility. Sadly, events sometimes
take a turn to shatter this illusion much too soon.

Ironically, for former Bruin All-American Kirk Kilgour, the
tragic turn came while pursuing his labor of love, volleyball.
Kilgour was selected a U.S. Volleyball Association All-American in
1969, was selected to the NCAA All-Tournament team in 1969 and was
a United States national team member from 1970 to 1975. In 1976,
Kilgour became the first American to play in Italy.

Then, while working out, the unexpected struck.

"While he was warming up, he crashed to the floor and pulled his
third cervical vertebrae," UCLA head coach Al Scates said. "There
was an orthopedic surgeon in attendance at the match and that
probably saved him, because the surgeon took over right away.

"But he almost died over there. Finally, we airlifted him out.
Sen. Alan Cranston got an Air Force jet to bring him back to
Boston. Eventually, he ended up at Los Alamitos, where they took
real good care of him. But he had several near-death experiences
and at that time, we decided we were going to do an annual
fund-raiser for him."

Kilgour’s No. 13 jersey was retired in 1987 and he is enshrined
as a member of the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame. His namesake, the
Kilgour Cup, unveils its 19th edition tonight as the longest
running men’s volleyball benefit match in the nation.

All proceeds from the 7:30 p.m. match are donated to Kilgour and
the benefit is the only source of outside income for the Bruin
great.

"We ask the students to pay for this one event and all the
proceeds go to Kirk," Scates said. "I always hope we get a big
crowd for this event because it is the only fund-raiser he has. We
always try to schedule a good team for this event so we can get a
bigger crowd. It should be a good match. Pepperdine is a big,
strong, good blocking team who hits very powerfully."

Besides its emotional importance to UCLA (5-2 overall, 3-1
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) coaches and players, the match
against Pepperdine (6-3, 1-2) will also serve as a conference test.
Swing hitter Kevin Barnett is the undisputed leader of the Wave
attack. At nearly eight kills per game, Barnett is tops in the MPSF
in kills average and the Bruins will key him accordingly.

"He’s a 6-foot-5-inch swing hitter and they go to him all the
time, in transition, out of the backcourt, he hits from
everywhere," Scates said. "Whenever they dig a ball, we have to
find him because he’s getting set even when he’s in the backcourt.
They can set him whenever they want and he gets plenty."

With a completely healthy lineup for the first time this season,
UCLA will also get a huge boost of their own. Look for All-American
Paul Nihipali to start at the opposite hitter’s spot with senior
Matt Noonan right behind him. Both posted excellent numbers last
weekend.

Nihipali hit a scintillating .636 in only three games against UC
San Diego last Saturday, while Noonan splintered the boards against
San Diego State the night before, putting away a match-high 13
kills and hitting .550.

To the chagrin of Pepperdine, freshman quick hitter James Turner
also returns to a UCLA squad which is already averaging a stunning
10 blocks per game. Turner, a 6-foot-8-inch intimidator, dominated
the net before being sidelined with an ankle injury last month.
Turner will return from the injury almost three weeks ahead of
schedule.

"If Turner can come back and work out like his old self, then he
can have his starting job back," Scates said. "The most we’ve had
him back has been for warmups, we haven’t been able to keep him for
a full workout. The doctor said six weeks and he’s back in three
and a half if he plays today."

All the pageantry of athletic competition aside, the most
important aspect of the Kilgour Cup remains the welfare of the man
it pays tribute to. Long after box scores are faxed and wins and
losses tallied, the essence of sport remains the human qualities it
fosters: dedication, teamwork and sportsmanship.

As a pioneer in the sport of volleyball, Kirk Kilgour embodies
all these traits. No doubt exists that Kilgour left the sport, and
the university, better than he found them.

UCLA Sports Info

Volleyball pioneer Kirk Kilgour was an All-American at UCLA in
1969 and a national team member from 1970-1975.

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