Deep bench, Naeve’s powerful play lead Bruins past UCI in four games

Monday, February 8, 1999

Deep bench, Naeve’s powerful play lead Bruins past UCI in four
games

RECAP: Irvine’s home-court advantage, serving difficulties of
UCLA overcome after rough beginning to beat Anteaters

By Nick Taylor

Daily Bruin Contributor

Behind dominant performances by All-American quick-hitter Adam
Naeve and a rejuvenated Evan Thatcher, the No. 4 UCLA Bruins men’s
volleyball team (6-2, 4-1 MPSF) overpowered UC Irvine (3-6, 2-5
MPSF) on its way to a four-game victory in Irvine, 13-15, 15-12,
15-3, 15-9.

Naeve was all over the floor with seven digs, nine blocks and a
team-high 27 kills to lead the Bruins. Thatcher added 24 kills
toward the Bruin arsenal as he returned to the starting lineup in a
big way.

"Thatcher hit really well," coach Al Scates explained.
"Actually, (on offense) we like to set the opposite (hitter) the
most."

While the Bruins were able to give Thatcher a team-high 44 sets,
and did pretty much whatever they wanted on offense, they weren’t
able to roll over the Anteaters. It was Irvine who began the match
with a stunning 11-2 lead.

"We were hitting well," Scates said, "but we couldn’t serve and
they could."

Irvine hit three aces and UCLA had eight serving errors,
allowing the Anteaters to overcome poor defense to win the first
game.

Lost in the box score, though, was an 11-3 Bruin run that closed
the first game to 13-14. Naeve had 17 kills during the first game,
thoroughly dominating the middle of the court. While UCLA allowed
Irvine to escape and win the first game at 15-13, the Bruins had
momentum and did not let up.

"We didn’t know exactly what their hitters did (at the start),"
Scates said. "As the match went on, we knew."

Integral to the comeback was UCLA’s deep bench. Matt Grace came
in for Danny Farmer and lit up the middle with six kills, three
digs and two blocks. Outside hitter Fred Robins came off the bench
and provided a much-needed spark for the Bruins. He had six kills,
four blocks, and a team-high 10 digs to fire up the team and move
them rolling in the right direction.

The Bruins needed Robins’ effort, for they would not be able to
put Irvine away easily. The Anteaters are very tough at home, due
to their odd home court. The gym has a low ceiling,and when the
ball hits the ceiling, it is still in play. UCI was used to playing
the ball off the roof, and the Bruins weren’t, keeping UCLA off
balance in the early part of the match.

This advantage allowed Irvine to play the Bruins even for the
first two games. "UCI is tough at home," Scates said. "They will
beat teams they’re not supposed to beat."

UCLA wasn’t about to let itself be one of those teams – they
shut down the UCI attack. UCI began to misfire on their passes as
UCLA served much better (six aces) and slowed the Anteaters
offense.

Once the hitters received their sets, UCLA felt it was only a
matter of time before they began to dominate.

"Eventually," Scates said, "our block will beat their hitters.
Once we get to know their tendencies, we’ve got them."

While UCLA did eventually pull away from Irvine, there is still
room for improvement. They allowed seven aces, the highest any
opponent has had against them this year.

There were bright spots for the Bruins, though, on Friday. UCLA
won without a big day from Matt Davis or Danny Farmer, both of whom
had been leading the team of late.

Thatcher broke out of his slump with a season high 24 kills, and
Mark Williams continued his hot hitting at .577 and 15 kills.

"We played well overall," Scates said, "and so did Irvine."

It seems, then, that when UCLA is playing well, their efforts
will trump their opponents who play well.

This will have to be the case, as the Bruins’ schedule doesn’t
get easier. They face No.11 Southern Cal on Wednesday.

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