Wednesday, April 8, 1998
Fearless Bruins manage to kill pouncing Lions
VOLLEYBALL: Top-ranked UCLA defeats LMU with blocking skills
By Grace Wen
Daily Bruin Staff
The UCLA men’s volleyball team used a familiar game plan last
night. The strategy is simple. Serve your opponents tough, and let
the blocking handle the rest.
The top-ranked Bruins relied on spectacular blocking and strong
serving to overcome a sluggish start against Loyola Marymount
Tuesday night. Before a crowd of 497, UCLA picked up its 22nd win
as it defeated LMU 15-11, 15-5, 13-15 and 15-5 in two hours and 15
minutes.
"Our blocking really improved," head coach Al Scates said. "This
is what we’ve been emphasizing since we came back from finals. Adam
Naeve particularly picked it up."
The sophomore middle blocker posted 13 blocks including three
solos as UCLA outblocked Loyola 24 to 6. But it wasn’t just Naeve
that supplied the roofing. UCLA captain Tom Stillwell tallied 10
blocks while setter Brandon Taliaferro had eight.
However it wasn’t just blocking, as UCLA outhit the Lions .385
to .224. Sophomore Evan Thatcher led the attack with a match-high
24 kills at a .579 clip. The blocking duo of Naeve and Stillwell
contributed offensively as well with Naeve hammering 20 kills while
Sillwell spiking 17.
The Bruins cruised to easy wins in the first two games but had
trouble in game three when the Lions mounted a 10-4 lead off of
several UCLA errors. The momentum, however, shifted after a double
substitution by Scates in which outside hitters Ben Moselle and
Mark Williams were replaced by Fred Robins and Matt Davis.
The Bruins then went on a 7-2 run that brought the score to
11-12. UCLA blocked seven balls during the stretch, including six
straight to wear down the Lions. A kill by Stillwell tied the game
at 12-12 and a block by Naeve and Robins gave UCLA a 1-point lead.
It would not be enough, though, as an ace and a kill by Corin Bemus
ended game three in the Lions favor.
"I have to give them credit," Taliaferro said. "They were
putting a lot of balls away, and they dug a lot of balls throughout
the whole match. They started putting more pressure on us, and then
we put some pressure on them but we couldn’t seem to close."
Despite losing game three, the momentum was in UCLA’s favor in
game four. The Bruins never trailed and seemed to gain strength
while the Lions wore out.
"The Bruins played better, and they kept the pressure on us,"
LMU head coach Rick McLaughlin said. "In order to beat the Bruins,
you have to keep constant pressure on them and we couldn’t do that
… they did what they had to do to win."