Bruins all over the Rainbows

Bruins all over the Rainbows

UCLA men’s volleyball team begins season on a bright note with
three wins in Outrigger Invite

By Grace Wen

Daily Bruin Contributor

The No. 2 UCLA men’s volleyball team began the new year in
paradise.

It was all fun and games for the Bruins, who made quick work of
their opponents in the Outrigger Hotels Invitational in Honolulu,
Hawaii.

Before a crowd of 9,167 screaming Hawaii fans, UCLA (3-0) picked
up its third win of the tournament last Friday to end a perfect
week of play. The Bruins were never threatened as they handily
defeated Hawaii (2-1) 15-11, 15-6, 15-10 in the championship
match.

UCLA and Hawaii waged a seesaw battle during game one in which
the Bruins prevailed. The teams traded points and sideouts before
Hawaii took an 11-10 lead. That would be the only lead for the
Rainbows as UCLA scored five straight points to end the game.

UCLA capitalized on sloppy ball-handling and six hitting errors
to easily take game two. The Bruins jumped out to an early lead in
game three and never relinquished it as they ended Hawaii’s
two-year reign as tournament champs.

The title match saw UCLA with its lowest hitting percentage of
the tournament, but it was enough as the Bruins outhit the Rainbows
.347 to .254.

Sophomore Evan Thatcher led the attack, notching a team high 15
kills with two errors for a .500 clip. All-tournament selections
Tom Stillwell and Fred Robins each had 12 kills. Tournament MVP
Adam Naeve had seven kills and four blocks.

"I was very pleased with our ball handling (at the Outrigger),"
said head coach Al Scates. "We dug the ball very well, our hitting
was quite strong, and our serving was on target. We’ll work on our
blocking this week, and we should be in good form for our league
opener."

Earlier in the week Naeve spiked 29 kills in two matches against
Ball State and Penn State. The Bruins swept both teams, beating
Ball State 15-2, 15-4, 15-8 and Penn State 15-3, 15-5, 15-8.

The Bruins will next host their alumni in Pauley Pavilion
Saturday. Featured former Bruins expected to play are three-time
All-American Paul Nihipali, and 1996 co-player of the year Stein
Metzger.