MARY CIECEK/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Sophomore
Scott Morrow gets some hang time in the UC Irvine
Tournament earlier this month.
By Diamond Leung
Daily Bruin Contributor The Bruins have done it 18 times before.
There’s no reason why they can’t do it again. After
winning the national championship last year, the No. 6 UCLA
men’s volleyball team (4-2) enters the 2001 season ready to
defend its title. “I think our chances are good,” said
UCLA head coach Al Scates, entering his 39th season with the
Bruins. “We’re going to be very good when we hit the
playoffs.” Though the Bruins aren’t what they were last
year, having lost five starters to graduation, they are confident
that things will come together soon enough. “It seems like
we’re getting better for the start of the season,”
junior outside hitter Matt Komer said. “We’re going to
keep on improving.” “Right now there are several teams
who are better than us, but I think I know how to peak this
team,” Scates added. Opponents in the Mountain Pacific Sports
Federation will be especially dangerous since there have been
changes in regulation that eliminate the sideout and incorporate
rally-scoring into men’s collegiate volleyball. With every
serve resulting in a point, the first four games going to 30
points, and the deciding fifth game going to only 15 points,
matches will be fast-paced and more exciting. “It’s a
little different with this rally scoring. Anyone can win,”
Komer said. “During the game we have to get real emotional,
and we can’t let a serve or bad play affect our
momentum.” What is affecting the Bruins is a lack of time to
gel. After having battled flu symptoms, the team is coming off a
successful but rigorous tournament in Hawaii that saw senior team
captain Mark Williams go down with an ankle injury. “We just
haven’t had enough practice time where all the starters are
there to get synchronized,” Scates said. Until then, the
Bruins will be led by three other returning starters and rely on a
talented bench to step up its play.
Setter Sophomore Rich Nelson will do his best
to replace four-time All-American Brandon Taliaferro. Nelson, who
went 6-1 last year as a starter, emerges as the starter this year
after platooning with senior Dan Conners during the preseason.
Conners, who had had no previous experience playing the position,
led the Bruins to wins over Cal-State Northridge and UC Irvine in
the preseason. He will serve as the backup setter.
Outside Hitters Senior Mark Williams is the
leader of this team. The team captain looks to have an All-American
year once he returns from his injury. Last year, the 2000
Australian Olympian earned all-conference honors, broke a
single-season school record for aces, and had the final kill to
wrap up the NCAA title. Komer takes Williams’ spot in the
lineup. After playing in 28 matches last year and starting the NCAA
semifinal and final, the junior will take on a larger role this
season. He earned all-tournament honors in the Outrigger Hotels
Invitational in the preseason while displaying his hitting and
improved passing skills. Junior Ian Burnham moves into the opposite
hitter spot with Williams gone. After sitting out last year with an
arm injury, he will finally get a chance to show what he can do.
Also starting at outside hitter is sophomore Cameron Mount. The man
with the yellow headband looks to have a breakout season after
playing in 27 matches as a freshman.
Middle Blockers The Bruins welcome back
three-time All-American Adam Naeve for his senior year. After
taking last year off to try out for the Olympic team, 6-foot-10
Naeve will rewrite the record books with each hit, block, and serve
he makes this season. Sophomore Scott Morrow, as Naeve’s
sidekick, makes the Bruins a force in the middle. Last year, he
earned a spot on the all-conference team, hit at a .427 clip, and
had 220 blocks as a true freshman.
Libero Freshman Adam Shrader starts at libero
and will have to make up for the loss of Libero of the Year Matt
Davis in the second year of the position’s existence. The
libero can only dig and set in the back row. “I think it
brings a little bit more of a dimension to the game,” Shrader
said. “It’s fun for me. I like playing back there. I
like playing defense.” With all the rule changes, illnesses,
and injuries, will this team be in a position to repeat as national
champs? “Of course,” Komer said. “That’s
what we’re known for.”