Wednesday, February 10, 1999
UCLA to oust Trojans in ‘SC court
M.VOLLEYBALL: Bruins
to brave hostile territory, crowd in search of win
By Pauline Vu
Daily Bruin Contributor
If USC coach Pat Powers had a secretary, the first thing he
would have seen on his desk this morning would have been a much
needed memo:
"Attn: Coach Pat Powers
Re: UCLA men’s volleyball team.
Note: Coach, there’s still a rivalry."
Because according to Powers, UCLA vs. USC is no big deal.
"The rivalry always makes you want to win, but I think my
players feel the same playing UCLA as they do playing Stanford,"
Powers said.
UCLA coach Al Scates heard this and immediately scoffed.
"(Powers) probably said that because he’s never beat us," he
said, referring to the No. 4 Bruins’ (6-2 overall, 4-1 MPSF)
current 12-game winning streak against the No. 11 Trojans (6-1,
5-0), with the last two wins during Power’s two-year tenure as USC
coach.
"He’s blowing a little smoke. Regardless of what he said, he
wants to beat us in the worst way. This rivalry is big," Scates
added.
It is so big that when Scates got his 900th win, nothing pleased
him more than when it took place on the Trojans’ home turf in the
North Gym.
The rivalry shouldn’t be any less exciting tonight, as the
Bruins will find in USC their biggest challenge since Loyola
Marymount.
Powers likens his players to "puppies" to highlight their youth
and inexperience.
But with the Trojans riding a six-game winning streak, including
a weekend upset over No. 13 Pacific and No. 7 Stanford, that term
disguises one fact – these puppies bite hard.
Likewise, Scates downplays his team’s talents in light of the
Trojans’ recent play.
"The Trojans are at the top of their division. We’ll be the
gutsy little Bruins coming there tonight," he said with a
smile.
The Trojans are admittedly a young bunch. Although they return
four starters, two of the returners are juniors and three are
sophomores. The last starter is a true freshman.
Sophomore Eli Fairfield and freshman Brook Billings, the MVP of
Volleyball magazine’s Fab 50 prep list last year, are the outside
hitters who lead the team in kills. Both have 117 total kills.
"They’re ‘billing’ Billings as a top freshman," Scates said.
Defensively, junior setter Donald Suxho paces the team in digs
with 49 total and 1.9 per game while Omar Rawi leads in blocks with
46, or 1.6 blocks per game.
USC’s middle blocker position is the only one without a starter,
and this worries Powers.
"We’re not as strong there as in the past – it’s a learning
position. We’re probably going to get eaten up there," he said.
The Bruin starting lineup will include the stars of last
Friday’s game against UCI, such as quick hitter Adam Naeve,
opposite hitter Evan Thatcher and outside hitter Fred Robins.
Naeve currently leads the team in total kills, aces and blocks.
In game one alone of the Irvine match he got 17 kills. Thatcher
came out slow against Irvine, getting no hits out of eight attempts
in game one, but he rebounded for the team’s second highest kill
total at 24. Robins got off the bench to lead the Bruins in digs
with 10.
"Thatcher and Robins regained their form against UCI," Scates
said.
What should make tonight’s match especially interesting is the
unique way USC utilizes its home court.
Their home matches are played in their North Gym, which Scates
calls, "the smallest facility possible."
He recommends that Bruin fans get to the game at least a
half-hour early, as USC likes to fill up North Gym with its band
and cheerleaders – also known as USC’s home court arsenal.
"They’re the only school in the league that does stuff like
close the windows and turn up the heat, set up folding chairs along
the side so that we can’t dig out-of-bound balls, and have their
cheerleaders yell with their megaphones into our huddles during
timeouts," Scates said.
"They’re always doing things like that to get an edge."
USC is also notorious for having its band play directly behind
the Bruins – no matter where they are playing. In fact, when the
Bruins switch sides for each succeeding game, the band switches as
well, dragging its instruments to the other side of the court.
Four years ago, Scates recalled, the Bruin setter accidentally
ran into a tuba player, knocking him sideways.
It is this setting which makes a win especially satisfying for
UCLA.
"It’s a fun place to beat them, and we enjoy it a lot. It’s much
more satisfying to beat them there than here," Scates said.
But despite USC’s home court advantage and UCLA’s enjoyment in
beating them there, despite the former’s youth and the latter’s
experience, both coaches admit that either team can win
tonight.
"Nothing’s certain," Scates said.
"I think it’s going to be a great match – two good teams going
at each other," Powers agreed.
Nothing less is expected when the Gutsy Lil’ Bruins and the USC
Puppies clash.
After all, things normally heat up during a rivalry.
Just read the memo, Coach.GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily Bruin Senior
Staff
Danny Farmer reaches for a set against LMU earlier this
season.
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