Friday, April 24, 1998
Bruins clean up Beach with three-game sweep
VOLLEYBALL: UCLA pulls off close victories with less-than-strong
game play
By Grace Wen
Daily Bruin Staff
Long Beach State didn’t play its best match of the year.
And neither did UCLA. But, the top-ranked Bruins came away with
a three-game sweep of the 49ers. Before a crowd of 1,853, UCLA
defeated the 49ers 15-12, 15-9, 15-10 in just under two hours.
Riding the arm of sophomore Adam Naeve, who had 20 kills, the
Bruins advance to Saturday night’s MPSF Championship against
Pepperdine. UCLA’s senior captain Tom Stillwell contributed with 14
kills at a .722 clip.
Despite winning the match, Stillwell admits that UCLA didn’t put
on a good performance.
"I didn’t think we played too well, but we came out with a
three-game win," UCLA captain Tom Stillwell said. "It’s good to win
ugly sometimes. If we’re going to win a national championship, then
sometimes that needs to happen."
In game one, neither team had more than a three-point lead, and
the score was tied nine times. UCLA pulled away at 11-11 off of a
kill by Naeve. The Bruins took a 14-11 lead after two straight net
violations by the 49ers. An ace by Ben Moselle ended game one.
The Bruins’ victory in that game was also aided by the fact that
Long Beach State’s best server went down with the game tied at
11-11. Scott Faber hammered a kill, but it was a costly one, as he
landed clutching his ankle in pain.
David McKienzie came off the bench to replace him, but McKienzie
didn’t fare too well, hitting for a negative average.
"We lost our best server, and when he went out, we were dead in
the water," Long Beach State head coach Ray Ratelle said. "It was
all over."
UCLA dominated game two from start to finish. The Bruins jumped
out to a 6-2 lead and didn’t look back. The 49ers tied the score at
6-6 but UCLA didn’t bat an eye and went on a 9-3 run to close out
the game.
Down two games to none, the 49ers took a quick 8-3 lead in game
three. UCLA never flinched and pulled to within three at 6-9 after
two key substitutions.
Andor Gyulai replaced Evan Thatcher while Mark Williams came in
for Fred Robins. Gyulai blocked a ball, as did Williams, who also
served an ace. UCLA held the 49ers to just one more point while
rattling off nine.
"We just needed some fresh legs in that third game and once
again the bench came in and did some good things for us," UCLA head
coach Al Scates said. "We can play better than that."
JAMIE SCANLON-JACOBS/Daily Bruin
Adam Naeve had a team-high 20 kills during the Bruins’ 3-0
victory over Long Beach.