M. volleyball to wade in high tide tonight

M. volleyball to wade in high tide tonight

By Ruben Gutierrez

Daily Bruin Staff

The last time Pepperdine and UCLA met was in a Valentine’s Day
benefit match, a fund-raiser for former Bruin great Kirk Kilgour.
The Bruins were anything but charitable to the Waves, giving them
nothing but their walking papers in a 15-5, 15-13, 15-9 sweep.

No. 5 Pepperdine hosts tonight’s rematch, another crucial
conference test for No. 2 UCLA.

The Bruins will again be tested by Pepperdine’s Kevin Barnett,
possibly the top attacker in the conference and one of the premier
hitters in the nation. Barnett leads the Wave charge with nearly
six kills per game thus far this season.

Barnett scorched the Bruins in their last meeting, putting away
25 kills on a .429 attack percentage and adding a couple of service
aces for good measure. Barnett’s numbers are even more impressive
when one considers that UCLA keyed on him for much of the match due
to an injury to another Wave outside hitter.

That other hitter, George Roumain, could spell trouble for UCLA,
as evidenced by a 49 kill performance against UC Irvine. UCLA head
coach Al Scates, who recruited Roumain himself, describes his style
of play as physical and intense, and so focused that he has chosen
to play with a broken wrist.

"He will probably be more of a problem than Barnett was," Scates
said. "George is about 6-feet-6-inches tall and weighs about 230
pounds. He looks like a middle linebacker. He is very mature for
being 19 or whatever he is. He is all muscle and bone, and jumps
high and hits hard.

"He’s playing with a light cast on his left wrist, which he
broke diving for a ball. He missed four matches, but he’s back and
it doesn’t seem to be bothering him, because when they beat Irvine
the other night he had 79 swings and put down 49 kills, so that’s
pretty incredible."

Although UCLA squarely outblocked them by a 19-8 margin in the
Kilgour Cup match, the Waves are also tough at the net. Blockers
John Bowling and Chris Jacobson each contribute about 1.5 blocks
per game. Both players are also efficient attackers, boasting
hitting percentages which hover above .400 on the season.

After proving to themselves they could beat No.1 Hawaii last
weekend, the Bruins are optimistic about their chances against the
tough blocking and hard hitting Waves. UCLA plans on paying
attention to areas where Pepperdine may be vulnerable – namely
serving, passing and receiving. Jump serve specialists Stein
Metzger and Brian Wells will be especially valuable in that
capacity.

"I think we have to serve and pass better," Scates said. "I
think Wells and Metzger should score well with their jump serve. In
those rotations, we should score pretty good. I think this is a
team we’re going to dig better than and pass better than. If our
passing is on, then we can beat their two middle blockers."

Pepperdine head coach Marv Dunphy also believes serving and
receiving will play vital roles in the outcome of the match.

"I think we’d all have to play well to beat them," Dunphy said.
"We’d all have to serve and receive a lot better than we did las
time we played them."

According to Dunphy, the biggest strength UCLA possesses is its
tremendous balance. In addition, junior opposite Paul Nihipali, who
has been on fire himself lately, and put down a school-record 39
kills against Hawaii last Friday, followed by 34 the next night,
will be matched with Roumain defensively. Additionally, the
leadership and floor instinct of setter Stein Metzger can not be
underestimated.

"I respect all of them, they have a real strong team balance,"
Dunphy said. "I like Stein Metzger. I think he’s the best setter in
the league. I respect his ability and the way he plays the game.
Nihipali has been playing really well lately, too. I voted them No.
1."

ANDREW SCHOLER/Daily Bruin

Pepperdine coach Dunphy considers UCLA setter Stein Metzger the
best in the MPSF.

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