Thursday, October 22, 1998
Bruins hold their own in off-season
TOURNAMENT: Men’s volleyball goes 3-1 against Canadian teams
By Steve Kim
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The 1998 NCAA champion UCLA men’s volleyball team combined
efforts with three other American teams in attempt to beat team
Canada in its home territory last weekend at the 1998 Molson
Challenge.
Set in the University of Alberta, Edmonton, the Canadian hosts
included Alberta, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Each of the
four NCAA teams, UCLA, Stanford, Pepperdine and Penn State played
the four CIAU (Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union) teams in a
total of 16 games to determine which organization, and country, has
the best group of volleyball programs.
Teams NCAA and CIAU tied this year, 8-8. UCLA and Penn State
went 3-1, Pepperdine won two out of its four games and Stanford won
no game. The combined team scores may be the same between the two
countries, but the difference is the Canadians start league play
this week while the Americans start theirs in January. Thus, they
had the upper hand in preparation.
"If they come down during our season," UCLA head coach Al Scates
assessed, "then the American teams are better. But at this time of
the year, it’s pretty even."
The NCAA allows four days of off-season competition, so the
weekend benefitted the Americans with not one but two challenging
games per day. In other words, it was a plus to get in as many
games in an allowed day.
UCLA beat Winnipeg the first day of the Canadian tournament.
Junior opposite dig player Evan Thatcher was named player of the
game. He made18 kills and eight digs.
The Bruins then played Manitoba, the lowest ranked of the four
Canadian teams, and lost 15-8. Coming into the game, Scates
intended to let his second-string players get some game
experience.
"We used some men who have never played before for UCLA," Scates
said. "We got clobbered but came back after the first game."
Opposite dig player Eric Ratledge was the UCLA player of the
Manitoba match, with 34 kills and five digs.
The Bruins added a 15-11 victory against Saskatchewan. Thatcher,
with 30 kills, five digs and nine blocks, was the player of the
game.
For the final match, UCLA added another win against Alberta,
15-11. With 24 kills and nine digs, Ratledge was once again named
the match’s best player. Scates also credits junior All-American
Brandon Taliaferro for a fine performance. Taliaferro was named
tournament all-star setter.
"We were down in that first game and he came up big," Scates
said. "He had five aces in one game that final night against
Alberta, playing in their home gym before a sold out crowd. He’s
going to have a great season."
Considering that UCLA was off-season and was missing its top
three middle blockers, the team displayed quite a result.
"Overall, I was extremely pleased," Scates said. "Adam Naeve
stayed home with a broken toe and Danny Farmer is playing football,
so we didn’t have our two starting middle blockers. And our back-up
middle, Seth Burnham, is recovering from knee surgery. We were
pretty thin, yet we still beat the best three Canadian teams."
The Bruins make another trip to Canada today to participate in
the University of Calgary hosted DINO Cup. Various American as well
as Canadian teams are scheduled to compete.
Like last weekend, Scates says the Canadians will provide the
Bruins with enough challenge since they’re ahead in training at
this point. Also like last weekend, the Bruins are anticipated to
perform well even with their off-season handicap.
Brandon Taliaferro sets ot Adam Naeve in a game against BYU last
season
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]