Monday, April 27, 1998
Deep bench unable to stay above water
VOLLEYBALL: Exchanging starters for back-ups, still can’t bring
victory
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Staff
When Al Scates benched four of his six starters late in the
third game, common thought would be to say the Bruins gave up.
Scates, the UCLA men’s volleyball head coach, and all the
parties involved in the 15-4 debacle that was the third game of
Saturday’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title game, believe
otherwise.
The reason the Bruins (26-4) are ranked No. 1 in the nation is
because of their depth.
Sure, their starting six could possibly be the best in the
nation, but their back-up six are also capable of defeating many
teams in the country.
Therefore with UCLA down 7-2 in game three, Scates benched
starters Fred Robins, Adam Naeve and Ben Moselle. Two points later,
down 9-2, Evan Thatcher was also benched – leaving only Brandon
Taliaferro and Tom Stillwell as the starters still in the game.
"Al was just trying to change the tide," Stillwell said. "We
have a strong 12 guys, not just a strong six guys. Sometimes when
we’re not winning, we can put in subs and not lose anything. People
weren’t performing, so (Scates) is going to put in someone else in
there to perform. That’s the way we work here. That’s why we’re so
strong – because we’re so deep."
With Danny Farmer, Mark Williams, Matt Davis and Andor Gyulai
complimenting Taliaferro and Stillwell, the Bruins quickly scored
two points. This pseudo-run prompted a Pepperdine timeout and after
a few sideouts the Waves took control again.
With J.J. Riley serving, the Waves scored six consecutive
points. They exploited the digging of Williams by serving to him
consistently and prevailed 15-4.
"We started a little run, but nothing really came of it," Davis
said. "(Scates) does stuff like that all the time. Things weren’t
going our way and he had to do something to change it up."
When game four came, all of the starters were back on the floor.
Fatigue may have been a reason why players were benched, as Scates
admitted Naeve looked a little tired. But Pepperdine head coach
Marv Dunphy thinks fatigue is never an excuse.
"I don’t think fatigue is ever a factor," Dunphy said. "I think
that’s a little bit overplayed. I think the only people that talk
to me about fatigue are the reporters. I realize you have a job to
do, but I don’t think we’ve ever lost a match or won a match
because of fatigue."
You win a match by outplaying your opponent – whether they are
the starting six or almost the entire bench.