Bruins find title at end of Hawaiian rainbow

Monday, January 25, 1999

Bruins find title at end of Hawaiian rainbow

VOLLEYBALL: Despite disappointing loss to No. 2 Lewis, UCLA wins
Outrigger Hotels Invitational

By Pauline Vu

Daily Bruin Contributor

The men’s volleyball team left the Hawaiian islands and the
prestigious Outrigger Hotels Invitational with two main things in
their possession.

1. the tournament title.

2. the season’s first loss.

In the course of the tournament, No. 1 UCLA easily defeated Penn
State the first day, lost a cliffhanger to No. 2 Lewis the next and
rebounded on the last day to defeat No. 3 Hawaii.

Pleased with the tournament win and confident despite the loss
to Lewis, head coach Al Scates believed that a loss can be seen as
a stepping stone.

"Our goal always is to win NCAA Championships. Nothing changes.
(Our loss to Lewis) helped us realize early that we have to
focus."

"We’ll get better," he added.

UCLA first beat Penn State (0-7) in straight sets of 15-3, 15-3,
15-10.

Besides putting in a hitting average of .489 and holding Penn
State to .245, UCLA also rose defensively, with 22 block assists
and 11 team blocks compared to Penn State’s four block assists and
three team blocks.

"We blocked them off the court and intimidated them. They had no
chance to gain momentum," Scates said.

The Nittany Lions gained some momentum in the third game when
they scored more points than their first two games put together,
but still didn’t manage to defeat the Bruins.

Besides, by then, Scates pointed out, "(UCLA) was losing
interest."

The first game was the most spectacular for the Bruins, as UCLA
had 16 kills and no errors to hit a whopping .800 percentage.

Opposite Evan Thatcher led the team in kills at 16 and had the
second highest hitting percentage of .682 and outside hitter Mark
Williams came up with a team high eight digs as well as two
aces.

Quick hitter Adam Naeve, a selection to the all-tournament team,
recorded the highest hitting percentage at .692 with nine kills,
and also had two aces and a team high nine block assists.

Despite Penn State’s misleading 0-7 record, head coach Al Scates
admits they are still a good team.

"(Penn State’s) schedule is a nightmare," he said, referring to
the fact the five teams they have faced so far have been ranked
first through fifth.

"They were pretty shell-shocked coming in, but this schedule is
going to make their regular league look like cakewalk," Scates
added.

On Thursday, the Bruins went to face No. 2 Lewis (3-1) in an
intense clash of the Titans. Lewis made it obvious in the first
game that they wanted revenge for their loss to the Bruins in last
year’s NCAA semifinals by beating them 15-13.

The Bruins and Flyers then traded victories as the Bruins took
game two 15-7, the Flyers responded, whipping the Bruins 15-3 in
game three, the Bruins then rallied to win game four 15-7, and the
Flyers at last defeated the Bruins 15-9 to take the match.

"The Lewis match was very emotional. It was payback for their
team. They celebrated afterward like they’d won the NCAA," Scates
said.

The numbers showed just how offensively even the teams were:
UCLA had 93 kills to Lewis’ 92. Both teams had 35 attack errors and
the final attack percentages had UCLA at .294 and Lewis at
.313.

Lewis was by far the defensively stronger team, however. They
had 16 more digs than UCLA, nine more solo blocks and 8.5
additional team blocks.

"Lewis has a quick offense and stayed just ahead of our
blockers. They’re difficult to block," Scates said.

They also committed less errors, with only 17 serve errors to
UCLA’s 27, and five fewer blocking errors.

Scates attributed Lewis’ victory to their fast, deceptive style
of play, especially that of tournament MVP Victor Rivera, who led
the match in kills at 32. He eventually posted over 100 kills
throughout the invitational.

"He’s the best hitter we’re going to see all year in terms of
number of different ways he can hit."

"If he sees a big block, he’ll change the shot, tip the ball or
cut shots. (Rivera’s) a smart hitter," Scates said.

There were several positives to the match. Five players posted
double figures in kills and Williams got a double-double in kills
and digs (16, 10), as well as three aces. Naeve led the team
against Lewis with 23 kills, as well.

That night, Scates and the Bruins reviewed the game on tape and
their defensive weaknesses and strengths in blocking. By the time
the tape and talk was done, the Bruins, who had entered the meeting
attentive and serious, left with confidence.

The way they played against Hawaii (4-1) in the championship
match the next day showed the men were not discouraged by the loss
to Lewis. This match was, Scates said, "a complete domination."

In front of a crowd of 9,562, UCLA handed the Rainbows their
first loss of the season in straight sets of 15-6, 15-7 and 15-3
and holding them to a season-low .190 while hitting .412
themselves.

"We played our best this season against Hawaii. Every hitter was
on in that match," Scates said.

The game was characterized by long, exciting rallies, often
taking 10 to 12 contacts before a side out or game point.

"It looked like women’s volleyball, only with the ball going 100
miles per hour and with more digs," Scates said.

Scates said that part of the reason Hawaii lost was that they
were missing middle blocker and team leader Andre Breuer to an
ankle injury. The Rainbows were out of position attempting to fill
that position.

Fred Robins, another member to the all-tournament team, excelled
against Hawaii. He led the team with 16 kills, changing his attack
style during this game.

"He had a lot of power behind the ball. He decided to go with
strength all the way instead of finesse and it worked. They
couldn’t dig them," Scates said.

Brandon Taliaferro was the last Bruin to make the all-tournament
team, playing consistent defense during the Outrigger and shining
in the game against Hawaii.

"I think Brandon probably blocked better in his career against
Hawaii. There’s no better setter in the country," Scates said.

The tournament ended with UCLA, Lewis and Hawaii each with a
loss. (Lewis lost to Hawaii on the first day, 2-3) The tournament
then came down to the game record, which UCLA claimed the top mark
at 8-3.

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