UCLA anticipates tough fight vs. Anteaters
By Daily Bruin Staff
Feb. 20, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 CATHERINE JUN Senior Mark Williams goes
up for a hit as senior teammate Adam Naeve looks
on during the Bruins’ match against the UCSB Gauchos last week.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL vs. UCLA vs. UC
Irvine Tonight 7 p.m. Bren Events Center
By Diamond Leung
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA men’s volleyball team hasn’t lost in almost
a month. That’s a scary thought for opponents considering the
Bruins are still battling injuries and looking to improve their
game.
No. 1 UCLA (9-3, 4-1 MPSF) travels to No. 12 UC Irvine (3-7,
1-4) tonight to take on the Anteaters at Crawford Hall.
“There’s always a need for improvement,”
senior middle blocker Adam Naeve said. “Our hitting
percentage needs to get up.”
The return of senior outside hitter Mark Williams from an ankle
injury goes a long way in helping that aspect of UCLA’s game
““ especially at a time when junior outside hitter Matt Komer
is out with a pulled hip flexor.
“(Williams) is our best passer,” sophomore outside
hitter Cameron Mount said. “He frees up the rest of us to
concentrate on our hitting.”
“He takes a lot of the court on passing,” Naeve
said. “He’s also probably the smartest hitter on the
team.”
Just ask the Anteaters. Williams notched 17 kills at a .517
hitting clip to lead the Bruins to a three-game sweep against UCI
at the Wyndham Garden Hotels West Coast Challenge in January.
Williams’ hitting may be a little rusty since coming back,
as evidenced by his .214 hitting percentage against UC Santa
Barbara, but his presence on the court does wonders for the Bruins.
Sophomore setter Rich Nelson now has another option.
Defensively, Williams, the libero for the 2000 Australian
Olympic team, can cover half the court during serves.
“It allows (freshman libero) Adam Shrader just to play his
position,” UCLA Head Coach Scates said.
But don’t expect the Anteaters to stare in awe at the
Bruins. In their last match, led by senior outside hitter Ty
Loomis’ 35 kills, the Anteaters took UCSB, who the Bruins
barely defeated, to five games.
“They’re a much stronger team now,” Scates
said. “Loomis has just been on fire.”
“We expect a tough match,” Mount said.
“They’ve taken every good team they’ve played and
put up a good fight.”
The Bruins, however, know that things have been going good for
them heading into the match.
“Our blocking is really improving, our serving is good and
our digging is improving,” Scates said. “Hitting is the
only thing.”
If that’s the case, the Bruins will be sure to crank up
their attack, and the Anteaters might want to take cover.
“¢bull; “¢bull; “¢bull;
The NCAA has announced that matches against the NAIA’s Cal
Baptist will count on team records and statistics. With this
change, the Bruins pick up another win to their record this season
as well as their 1998 season. Scates’ Feb. 3 victory over
Pepperdine will remain as his official 1,000th career victory.
