Thursday, February 26, 1998
Anteaters strike up on-court challenge
VOLLEYBALL: With big hitters, UC Irvine could threaten powerful
UCLA
By Grace Wen
Daily Bruin Staff
What a difference a year can make.
The UC Irvine men’s volleyball team already has more wins this
season than it did all of last year.
The Anteaters finished tied for last in the Mountain Division of
the MPSF conference. This year Irvine is tied with BYU for third
behind UCLA and Pepperdine.
Second-year UCI head coach Charlie Brande attributes the vast
improvement to a good recruiting class and returners who are more
competitive than before.
"Last year when we played, I didn’t feel we stepped up and
played very competitively," Brande said. "I think this year’s group
will be much much more competitive. It’ll be tough for us to win a
game there, but we’ll be much much more competitive."
Although the Anteaters’ four-match winning streak was broken
last Saturday by Santa Barbara, UCI has a loaded offense that has
keyed them to wins over USC and UCSB.
"They have three outside hitters coming back, and they’re all
getting about five kills per game," UCLA head coach Al Scates said.
"The other two players don’t get set very much. This is a problem
because you can’t key on three players."
UCLA’s main focus, however, will be on Cory Weber. The senior
middle blocker has been the Anteaters go-to-guy. Weber averages 6.8
kills a game and is hitting .426 for the year.
"What’s alarming about it is that he’s hitting .426 and getting
6.5 kills per game," Scates said. "This is big. This is a big
problem. Anybody who gets that many sets and hits for that kind of
average (has got to be the reason)."
Weber’s performance along with outside hitters Donnie Rafter and
Mike Rupp will keep the Bruins on their toes tonight.
"We’re going to have to read and react a little more than
usual," Scates said. "Play a pretty straight up honest defense
cause they have three people they can go to."
UCLA, on the other hand, has an offense in which it can go to
five different people. In addition, the Bruin lineups have been
known to change yet still produce wins.
Despite the improved season for Irvine, Brande realizes that a
formidable challenge lies ahead of them.
"UCLA is extremely well-coached and extremely talented," Brande
said. "We hope to get there and give them some kind of a
battle.
"I think serving will be a tremendous factor. If we don’t serve
tough and we don’t receive well it’s going to be very hard for us
to compete."