Tourney no paradise for m. volleyball

Friday, April 26, 1996

Bruins to take on CSUN Matadors in second round of playBy Ruben
Gutierrez

Daily Bruin Staff

The first-round results from last weekend’s Mountain Pacific
Sports Federation playoff tournament were a pleasant surprise for
some teams and a rude awakening for others. But for the No. 2 UCLA
men’s volleyball team, things could not have worked out better.

Hours after sweeping Pacific at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins
(22-5 overall) were expecting to receive news that their
second-round opponent would be a Long Beach State (21-6) squad
which had dominated them 15-10, 15-10, 15-13 only 11 days earlier.
Instead, UCLA got the word that it would instead take on Cal State
Northridge (16-11) after the Matadors upset the then second-ranked
49ers.

Should the Bruins advance past CSUN, a victim of two Bruin
sweeps this season, they would virtually be assured of at least an
at-large berth in the NCAA Championships at Pauley. Time to break
out the bubbly for a 16th NCAA men’s volleyball title?

Hold on a second ­ the Matadors are seeing red.

Northridge enters the championship weekend in Hawaii hotter than
cayenne pepper, and the Bruins are wary of looking past them in
favor of scrutinizing the big guns.

"Northridge is the hottest team in the tournament," said UCLA
head coach Al Scates. "The last time we played them at our place,
it was 15-12 in the first game and 15-13 in the second game. I
think their coach used a somewhat misconstrued lineup in the third
game (a 15-6 UCLA victory) and they were out of sync, so I’m
throwing that game out. So basically, they’ve played us even in the
last two games."

"This semifinal match could be our ticket to the Final Four, so
we can not even afford to think about who we might play in the
finals," he added.

The Matadors reached the semis largely on the efforts of Collin
Smith. The CSUN outside hitter peppered the 49ers with 25 kills on
a .478 attack percentage and also added an ace and seven digs on
the evening. With Smith leading the way, the Matadors burned Long
Beach with a .342 team hitting percentage. Smith was named the MPSF
player of the week for his efforts.

"I don’t think a lot of people expected Northridge to be here,"
said Hawaii head coach Mike Wilton. "From what I hear, they were
just loose and relaxed and having a good time, and Long Beach got
tighter than a drum. We get some pretty predictable results when
that happens, so they’ve probably gotten a little further than they
thought they would."

"They’re probably loving life, got another free trip to Hawaii,"
he noted.

For UCLA, playing in Hawaii could be the key to success. Injured
swing hitter Fred Robins hails from nearby Waimanolo, while swing
Brian Wells and MPSF player of the year Stein Metzger call Honolulu
home.

"We’ve played three great matches against Hawaii this season,"
Scates said. "Their fans appreciate good volleyball, there will be
10,000 people there, so we hope we can maybe pick up some of their
fans in the semifinal match. The local boys always play their best
ball in Hawaii."

Top-ranked Hawaii (26-1) isn’t a lock to make it to the
conference final, either. A feisty UC Santa Barbara (17-7) stands
in the Rainbows’ way, and a Gaucho victory could muddy the picture
for the Bruins, who have lost twice to UCSB in the regular
season.

"Santa Barbara is capable of giving Hawaii a real good match,"
Scates said. "I assume we’ll play the earlier match, because the
home team, Hawaii, will get the prime time on TV. So, we’ll be able
to watch it and put together a good scouting report on either
team."

SCOTT O/Daily Bruin

Hawaii native Brian Wells will return home this weekend for the
MPSF tournament.