Toppling the Opposition
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 11, 2001 9:00 p.m.
Opponent’s Spotlight Curt
Toppel
By Amanda Fletcher
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Al Scates knows Stanford outside hitter Curt Toppel so well that
he can tell you what happened the night of Toppel’s senior
prom.
“When he went to senior prom and he put on his tuxedo, his
pants went up to his knees,” Scates said. “He had to
return home from his date’s house and put on a pair of black
slacks.”
Expecting a slightly different ending?
So was Scates, UCLA’s men’s volleyball head coach,
when it came time for Stanford’s Toppel to choose a
college.
A Pacific Palisades native, the 6-foot-9 Toppel was groomed for
a great volleyball career right in UCLA’s backyard.
“He played for one of the best club teams in the
country,” Scates said. “Everybody wanted
him.”
But with his own long-term goals in mind, Toppel elected not to
join the then-17-time NCAA championship Bruins but became part of
the Cardinal.
Friday night, Scates and the rest of the No. 3 Bruins will have
a chance to get to know Toppel even better when they travel to Palo
Alto to take on No. 5 Stanford.
Stanford Sports Information Curt Toppel, one of
the nation’s best players, considered UCLA before choosing
Stanford. But maybe they already know him well enough. When
Stanford came down here on March 9, Toppel had 26 kills at a .415
hitting clip, leading his team to a four-game victory over
UCLA.
“His volleyball athleticism, physical ability to play this
game and his ability to attack the ball were evident at a very
young age to me,” said Stanford Coach Ruben Nieves.
But while everyone else could see Toppel’s potential,
Topple himself had no idea what was going on.
“Before the coaches started approaching me I didn’t
know anything about colleges,” Toppel said.
“I was only a sophomore, not even halfway done with high
school. (College) was the last thing on my mind. By the time junior
year rolled around I had to make a decision on where I wanted to
go.”
After taking official recruiting trips to his top two schools,
UCLA and Stanford, Toppel did what few would expect of the
nation’s top recruit ““ he put his education first.
“I knew I wasn’t going to play volleyball for the
rest of my life,” Toppel said. “UCLA is a good school,
but I thought Stanford had a better name overall and scholastically
might be a better school for me.”
With plans of attending medical school and eventually becoming
an orthopedic surgeon, education was Toppel’s main priority.
Even though UCLA won its 18th NCAA title last year, he still feels
he made the right decision.
“I really don’t know what it would be like at UCLA
because I’m not there,” he said. “Sometimes I
think I might have had more fun at UCLA, but I’m not going to
regret what I did.”
Stanford had one more thing to offer Toppel that UCLA
couldn’t ““ a scholarship.
“Unfortunately we had no money for him, and on the last
day Stanford suddenly materialized a full scholarship for
him,” Scates said.
With only four and a half scholarships for 17 players, most
members on the UCLA squad receive little to no financial
assistance, let alone a full scholarship waiting for them as
freshmen. So while Scates hoped that Toppel would walk on to the
team, the blue-chip packed his bags and headed north.
During his time with the Cardinal, Toppel has taken his game to
the next level.
“He’s developed into more of a complete
player,” Nieves said. “He’s a much better server
as a sophomore than he was as a high school senior. He’s a
much better defender and blocker than he was as a freshman.
“He’s added to his great attacking ability by
improving some of the other areas of his game.”
And the results are evident.
Last year, Toppel was the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
Freshman of the Year. He set a national and school record by
averaging 8.65 kills per game and was an MPSF first-team and
All-American second team selection.
This year, Toppel is third in the nation with his team-leading
5.52 kills per game and is third on his team in defense with 1.59
digs per game.
Toppel has also matured in ways that stats and awards
can’t describe.
“He’s more patient with himself and his team,”
Nieves said. “He has a better understanding that success
comes over time, that you don’t win a match with one play and
you don’t win a championship in one week.”
“The guy wants to be good.” Nieves continued.
“He wants to win, and when you’re that competitive you
can get frustrated when things don’t come
immediately.”
According to Scates, Toppel is simply a stellar athlete.
“He’s just a big hitter who jumps high, hits the
ball real hard and is certain to play on the U.S. team,”
Scates said.
“He’s matured physically; he’s a little taller
and stronger, but it’s nothing Stanford’s done.
We’d be better with him, there’s no question about
that,” Scates added. “But any team would be
better.”
