MICHAEL MANTEL True freshman setter Sebastian
Miller was thrust into the starting lineup in UCLA’s 3-1
win over Concordia. UCLA 3 Concordia 1
By Diamond Leung
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
It’s becoming the forte for the UCLA men’s
volleyball team. A starter can’t go. A freshman takes his
place. The Bruins win.
With junior setter Rich Nelson hospitalized with a viral
infection and redshirt freshman setter Jimmy Sepulveda sitting out
with a questionable amateur status, in came one Sebastian
Miller.
Despite only one day of practice with the first team, the
baby-faced true freshman found himself making his UCLA debut and
quarterbacking the top-ranked team in the nation.
The match against Division II Concordia College (NY) was
supposed to feature the Bruin bench players, but this was crazy.
UCLA had to hang on for a 30-26, 30-26, 28-30, 31-29 win Tuesday
night at Pauley Pavilion.
“It was fun,” Miller said.
That is, until Concordia started to play well. Clipper sophomore
outside hitter Diego Escobar ripped through the Bruin block and
finished with 36 kills, the second-most against UCLA since rally
point scoring was implemented last year.
Concordia (7-11) out-hit, out-dug and out-served UCLA (20-3) for
the match.
But the Bruins didn’t go running around with their heads
chopped off. They knew that with all of their regular hitters on
the court, they could still beat the Clippers.
“We should have beat them in three games,” UCLA
freshman outside hitter Jonathan Acosta said.
The Bruins also knew that their Division II opponents would make
mistakes. The Clippers had chances to win all four games, but they
lost key points by mishandling sets, blocking into the net, and
even serving out of rotation.
Meanwhile, when a fidgety Miller mishandled his first set, his
teammates patted him on the back. They gave words of encouragement
to the wide-eyed rookie.
“He looked very steady after that,” UCLA head coach
Al Scates said. “He was obviously nervous, but he put up some
real hittable balls.”
Miller finished with 57 assists and distributed the ball well.
Four Bruin hitters ““ Acosta, junior Cameron Mount, sophomore
Chris Peña and senior Matt Komer ““ had double-digit
kills on the night. Acosta finished with a team-high 21 kills.
“It’s good getting a win under a new setter,”
Acosta said. “If Rich can’t go, we’ll have that
experience under our belts.”
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UCLA held Sepulveda out of Tuesday’s match while the
university and the NCAA investigate his involvement with a Puerto
Rican amateur league as a high school player.
According to Scates, Sepulveda received compensation from the
league. The investigation centers around how much he received.
“We have a query in to the NCAA because there was some
money involved, even though it was an amateur league,” Scates
said.
“We just want to be proactive,” he added. “We
want to make sure. We’re waiting for an answer, but we feel
real comfortable with it.”
It is unclear whether the three matches Sepulveda competed in
earlier this season (all UCLA victories) will have to be
forfeited.
Acosta participated briefly in the same league and did not take
any money, according to Scates.