Moselle’s serving prowess key to success in playoffs

Wednesday, 4/30/97 Moselle’s serving prowess key to success in
playoffs Despite ‘roller coaster’ season, he clinches starting
spot

By Vytas Mazeika Daily Bruin Contributor Ben Moselle thought his
chances of earning a starting spot on the UCLA men’s volleyball
team were 50-50 at best. He played well during last season’s
playoff run while subbing for injured starters Paul Nihipali and
Fred Robins. But after suffering a back injury that sidelined him
from May until September, he lost some of that edge. Men’s
volleyball coach Al Scates never awards any of his players with a
starting spot based on previous performances. He feels that they
have to earn it during the fall exhibition season and maintain it
during the spring practices. UCLA returned four starters and
recruited two top freshmen – so the six starting spots seemed
covered. But when James Turner failed out of school in the fall
quarter, suddenly an opening sprung up. Four players (Moselle,
Andor Gyulai, Trong Nguyen and Matt Davis) competed for that spot.
No player seemed to stand out and by the start of the season Scates
still found himself rotating starters. UCLA struggled for the early
part of the season due to inconsistent play. The defending NCAA
champion Bruins had only a 5-3 record to show for their efforts.
Five starters were set: opposite Paul Nihipali, middle blockers Tom
Stillwell and Adam Naeve, setter Brandon Taliaferro and swing
hitter Fred Robins. But the sixth and final spot was a topic of
discussion among the Bruin coaching staff. "I was playing four
different people in that spot to try and find the guy that was
going to be right for the long haul and we absorbed some early
losses," Scates explained. "I gave everybody a chance for that
spot. I evaluated (all of them) and I decided to go with Ben."
Since then UCLA had won 18 in a row before losing to Stanford in
the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation final. Moselle won the
starting job in practice. Scates constantly shuffled Moselle,
Gyulai, Nguyen and Davis around. But as the season wore on Moselle
proved to be the most consistent player. Scates noticed a lot of
potential in Moselle’s game. But Moselle just could not seem to
stay healthy. The back injury kept him from jumping until September
and it produced very erratic performances. His less-than-stellar
performances during early matches in Hawaii were disappointing and
forced him to rededicate himself. "(The early part of the season)
was sort of a roller coaster ride," Moselle said. "I started to
feel good again and then I would have a setback for one reason or
another." After claiming the starting spot, Moselle seemed to
improve with every match. The progress came in virtually every
facet of the game. His blocking became more consistent and his
digging took some of the pressure away from Robins – arguably the
team’s best digger. But Moselle has the greatest impact serving.
His jump serves give the other team many problems and provides the
Bruins with many easy scoring chances. Since Scates’ offensive
philosophy revolves around scoring quick points and a starting
lineup inundated with float servers, Scates felt it necessary to
add Moselle in order to get more quick points. And Moselle knows
just how important his serve can be. "Jump serving has a lot to do
with momentum and being in a serving zone," he said. "If it is
going well you just have to go with it. When you’re on a roll it
really helps. It is nice when you can force some bad passes. And
coach (Scates) really stresses the importance of tough serving. I
take pride in being able to score." Although the team was in the
midst of an 18-match winning streak, Moselle’s season was pretty
much up and down. One night he would hit great and the next he
would be ineffective. But through it all his serve was always
there. "For a while there in the middle of the season my jump serve
really kept me going," Moselle said. "I looked forward to getting
on the line, serving and helping the team out – scoring some
points. And when it was not there sometimes I felt like I was not
in it. I was not involved as I liked to be … That is how it was
just with my serve in the beginning. It is more of an all-around
game now." No one in the UCLA men’s volleyball team can ever be
sure that they will keep their starting job. Moselle knows that if
he falters, Gyulai or Nguyen or Davis can come in and take over in
exemplary fashion. So he just keeps working harder and harder
because the competition forces him to. Throughout the season his
all-around game has progressed to the point where his teammates now
realize that if they are to win a national championship Moselle is
the likeliest player to contribute at that sixth starting spot.
"There is never any resentment between the players," Nguyen said.
"We are all competitive and we all want to start. We all bust our
asses and work hard to start. I am happy for Ben because he is
doing so well and I hope he keeps up until the end. And I hope he
is a major component of why we win this year." And with only two
matches left, Scates has noticed a difference. Moselle is the kind
of player that gains momentum throughout the season and is ready to
make a huge impact come playoff time. He spends more time focusing
on the upcoming matches and his mental toughness allows for his him
to showcase his physical abilities. Less than two weeks ago,
against Pacific in the first round of the MPSF playoffs, Moselle
had arguably his best match of the season. He led the Bruins with a
.500 hitting percentage and tallied 18 kills – second only to
Nihipali’s 19. He also had two aces to lead the team and seven digs
to rank third. Moselle knows that he will never be the go-to guy
like Nihipali. But he enjoys forcing the other team to stay honest
and breaking up the double team on Nihipali. He is one of many
players on this Bruin team who is aware of what his role is and
will not overextend himself. He knows that to win the national
championship they must remain a team. And without a third straight
NCAA championship the season will not be complete. "I don’t think
we’ll be satisfied (if we do not win the national championship),
but I will be proud of what we accomplished regardless," Moselle
said. "We have accomplished a lot. We started out the season poorly
for us – which is common for UCLA. But we have really come
together. I will be proud of what the team has done … regardless
of what happens." He should also be proud of what he has
accomplished. JUSTIN WARREN/Daily Bruin After a back injury that
kept him out until September, junior Ben Moselle has earned a
starting spot on the volleyball team this year.