UCLA players see red, seek revenge on No. 5 Stanford
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 12, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 COURTNEY STEWART Rich Nelson sets for
Scott Morrow during a 3-2 loss to Stanford last
month.
By Diamond Leung
Daily Bruin Contributor
The mere mention of Stanford causes Scott Morrow to flash a
knowing grin. He remembers well what happened the last time the
UCLA men’s volleyball team played the Cardinal.
A month after Stanford dealt UCLA a stunning five-game home
loss, the No. 3 Bruins (19-6, 11-4 MPSF) head north for a crucial
rematch with the No. 5 Cardinal (14-7, 10-6) tonight at Maples
Pavilion. The Bruins will do battle with No. 10 Pacific (10-11,
6-9) Saturday night at the Alex G. Spanos Center to close out the
regular season.
So Scott, any lingering feelings from the Stanford match earlier
this season?
“Definitely,” said the sophomore quick hitter, who
was blocked on Stanford’s match point. “We
shouldn’t have lost to them the first time.”
This game, there’s a lot more at stake. With a win over
Stanford, UCLA can clinch a home playoff game and at least the
third seed in the MPSF Tournament.
“We want to beat them as quick as possible and come out
with a victory,” sophomore setter Rich Nelson said.
The key to winning is stopping sophomore outside hitter Curt
Toppel. The All-American tallied 26 kills in Stanford’s upset
win over UCLA on March 9.
“We didn’t really do a good job on Curt Toppel last
time,” UCLA Head Coach Al Scates said. “He had way too
many kills. I think we’ll do a better job this
time.”
Stanford also has a lot riding on this match. The Cardinal
clinched a playoff spot last week and have an outside shot of
earning the fourth seed and the home playoff game that comes along
with it. However, the Bruins want to put that thought to rest.
“I definitely think we should beat them,” Morrow
said. “They’re a good team, but we’re definitely
the better team.”
After Stanford, UCLA will have to contend with Pacific the
following night. The upset-minded Tigers, who boast wins over two
top-ranked teams in Long Beach State and BYU, are fighting to stay
alive for the eighth and final spot in the MPSF Tournament, and
that makes them a dangerous team.
“It’s a team you have to stay on because if they
start getting some confidence, they can jump all over you,”
Scates said.
The Bruins swept the Tigers out of Pauley Pavilion March 10, but
things have changed since then ““ namely because sophomore
Aaron Wachtfogel has made a position change from libero to outside
hitter. The match against UCLA was his first as an offensive
player, and he hit at a horrific .000 clip.
“I guess we hit them at a real low point in their
season,” Scates said. “They didn’t put up much of
a fight.”
Since then, Wachtfogel has been named the AVCA/Sports Imports
Division I/II National Player of the Week after his breakout match
in which he notched 29 kills, leading the Tigers to a shocking
five-game victory over BYU.
In any case, the Bruins know what they have to do to wrap up the
regular season on a positive note.
“We just want to go in there, play hard, take care of
business, and get our momentum going for the upcoming week (of
playoffs),” Morrow said.
