M. volleyball digs up opponents in killer weekend
By Daily Bruin Staff
Feb. 25, 1996 9:00 p.m.
M. volleyball digs up opponents in killer weekend
By Ruben Gutierrez
Daily Bruin Staff
After a weekend which was supposed to be a testing ground
against ranked opponents, the No.3 UCLA men’s volleyball team
emerged unscathed, extending its winning streak to six matches
after doling out a pair of three-game beatings.
Saturday, the Bruins cruised by No. 4 Stanford 15-9, 15-11,
15-5. UCLA (10-2 overall, 7-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)
pressed the Cardinal (7-2 overall, 6-2 MPSF) with a furious attack,
out-hitting them .411 to .168. All-American opposite Paul Nihipali
led the charge, putting away 17 kills on a match-high .625 attack
percentage. Quick hitter James Turner also continued to improve for
UCLA after an early season ankle injury, putting in an all around
performance with nine kills and five total blocks.
The Cardinal were largely a one man gang, namely in the form of
outside hitter Matt Fuerbringer. Stanford set Fuerbringer 46 times
on the evening and he managed to put away 27 kills. As the match
wore on, however, UCLA slowed Fuerbringer by matching Nihipali
against him.
"They were just going to one player, and that was Fuerbringer,"
UCLA head coach Al Scates said. "Eventually we slowed this
Fuerbringer down, each game he hit less effectively. I put Nihipali
on him. He started hitting a few out finally at the end."
According to Scates though, a major factor in the Bruin victory
was a key substitution early in the match. With freshman swing
hitter Fred Robins struggling, Scates inserted senior Matt Taylor.
Off the bench, Taylor was nearly flawless.
"We were a little shaky because Robins was really off," Scates
said. "I pulled him out of the game and Matt Taylor came in in game
two early and played real well. He put away three of the four balls
we set him and passed real well, too."
Against University of Pacific (9-3, 5-3), UCLA hit over .400 as
a team for the second straight night, finishing with a .407 team
attack percentage in the 15-7, 15-6, 16-14 victory. Nihipali again
led the team in kills, putting down 22 of his 49 sets. Robins
underwent a sharp reversal of form from the previous evening,
popping up with a team-high 10 digs and 12 kills on a .526 average.
Quick hitter Tom Stilwell took his turn at dominating the net as
well, recording nine block assists to go along with six kills.
As usual, All-American setter Stein Metzger ran the floor like
clockwork, distributing his sets evenly and even choosing his own
spots carefully throughout the weekend. So careful, in fact, was
Metzger about picking his spots that he managed nine kills on an
.818 attack percentage against Pacific.
Not surprisingly, the Bruins looked to Metzger’s leadership with
their backs against the wall in the third game. Facing elimination
and a taunting crowd, the UCLA team showed its character in winning
the game and match by the narrowest of margins.
"I thought Stein played a great selection of sets," Scates said.
"He gave everyone a hittable ball. His setting was the key.
(Against UOP) in game three, when we were down by so much, they
started heckling Stein, they had the water polo players and tennis
players out there. He just fired up and brought us back. They had
10 chances to put us away, and we came back to win 16-14."Comments
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