Tuesday, January 19, 1999
Players sport potential in volleyball scrimmages
RECAP: Although UCLA lost
to Arizona, Santa Barbara, team prepared to defend NCAA
title
By Nick Taylor
Daily Bruin Contributor
In its last chance to evaluate second-string players and
experiment with new lineups, the UCLA men’s volleyball team warmed
up for its regular season by playing a series of scrimmages Friday
and Saturday at UC Santa Barbara.
UCLA swept through the competition on Friday, defeating Cal
Baptist, Cal Berkeley, Colorado and Cal Northridge. On Saturday,
however, the Bruins lost to Arizona and Santa Barbara before
finishing the tournament with a win over UC Irvine.
"Our team was uninspired the second day," coach Al Scates said.
"By the end, we were really tired."
But before anyone thinks that the defending national-champion
Bruins are off their game, keep the following in mind. First, the
matches they played were nothing more than organized scrimmages, in
a best of three game format. Second, Scates played each of his 13
players an equal amount of time, with the exception of All-American
middle blocker and quick hitter Adam Naeve, who only played in the
scrimmage against Northridge. In their loss to the Wildcats, for
instance, the Bruins played a mixed lineup and couldn’t get all of
their starters into play in the deciding 15-17 rally-point game.
Following that matchup, the Bruins played their second team against
Santa Barbara’s first team, and they were beaten 8-15, 13-15.
This meant little, for the Bruins had just defeated UCSB easily
in their opening match of the season. There was no incentive for
UCLA to play its starters against a team it had just defeated, in a
match that did not count.
Instead, the No. 1 ranked Bruins, who have won four of the last
six NCAA titles and have made the title game each of the last six
years, had the luxury of treating these scrimmages as what they
really were: warm-ups.
Since the matches don’t count against their record, the worst
that can happen for the Bruins were not losses but injuries. When
Naeve, who is a player of the year candidate, complained of a
pulled muscle in the Fullerton match, Scates quickly pulled him
out.
"In the second game Adam said he pulled a muscle," Scates
explained. "Then the trainer said it was his quadriceps, so I got
him out of there."
Naeve’s injury was minor, and while he may not see action in the
Outrigger tournament in Hawaii, he will be ready for the beginning
of MPSF conference play.
While the results may not have counted, the Bruins still had to
compete. Matt Davis, Ed Ratledge and Matt Grace used the time to
show everyone that they could challenge for starting spots.
Davis had 17 kills and hit .590 in the first match against
Cal-Baptist, and he finished Friday with a total of 29 kills and
hit .333. Ratledge totaled 31 kills and hit .420 over the two-day
tournament, and Grace added 17 kills and hit .380.
"Davis can fill in for (Mark) Williams or (Fred) Robins on the
outside," said Scates. "Rutledge really showed me something out
there; he can fill in for (Evan) Thatcher if we need him to."
Middle-quick hitter Grace, who will not supplant Naeve in the
starting lineup, excelled in Naeve’s absence, and the Bruins may
need him in Hawaii and beyond if Naeve’s injury lingers. Other
standouts for the tournament included Mark Williams and Danny
Farmer. Williams had 18 kills and hit .420, and Farmer had a
team-high 40 kills, hitting .540.
Scates said in closing that UCLA’s passing was great; Robins and
Williams had some "highlight reel digs," and setter Brandon
Taliaferro was blocking great as well.
Despite the odd format, UCLA flexed its muscles most of the time
during the tournament, excelling with its second team against some
opponents’ first-string teams.
Ratledge, Davis, Seth Champi (14 kills against Cal Baptist) and
Matt Komer (15 kills against UCSB) all showed they can play with
the best the NCAA has to offer.
While UCLA did not "win" this tournament, don’t think for a
second that it isn’t the team to beat in the NCAA’s. As the Bruins
head to Hawaii to play No. 2 Lewis University and No. 3 Penn State
– in matches that do count – look for UCLA to play its best and
overwhelm the opposition.
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