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Friday, May 1, 1998

Flyers grounded as UCLA advances to final match

VOLLEYBALL: Bruin momentum, blocking leads team to narrow 3-2 victory over Lewis in semifinal

By Grace Wen

Daily Bruin Staff

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- For the second year in a row, it came right down to the very end.

UCLA trailed throughout the match but prevailed in the fifth game to advance to Saturday's NCAA championship. The Bruins defeated the Flyers 13-15, 15-9, 15-6, 13-15, 15-11.

The Bruins came out hesitant while Lewis played like a team with nothing to lose. Lewis players could be heard throughout the arena but in the end it didn't matter who was the loudest.

"Danny Farmer really sparked us," UCLA head coach Al Scates said. "He was 12 for 12 at one point and blocked a couple of balls which was just a bonus. And he dug a couple of balls, he was just fantastic."

Farmer came off the bench in game two to give the Bruins a much needed awakening. He finished the night with 26 kills, second to Adam Naeve's 34 kills. Lewis standout Victor Rivera led all players with 43 kills but his effort alone was not enough.

In game one, Lewis jumped out to a 3-0 lead off of UCLA errors. The Bruins tied the score after the Flyers mirrored UCLA's mistakes. It was a see-saw battle throughout the game with neither team taking more than a three-point lead. The Bruins took a 12-10 lead but could not close as Lewis tied the score at 13-13 with a kill by Guy Nembard. The Bruins fought off game point twice but the Flyers took game one when Tom Stillwell was blocked by Rivera.

Game two began as a sideout battle with points few and far between. Though they only had one and two point leads, it seemed as though momentum was on the Flyers side. However, a key substitution by Scates at 7-9 changed the tide.

Coming off the bench was Farmer who immediately made an impact. Farmer blasted three kills to keep the sideout battle even. The Bruins took an 11-9 lead off a kill by Brandon Taliaferro and three hitting errors by the Flyers. With Naeve serving, the Bruins closed out the match with Farmer blasting three overpasses and an ace by Naeve.

The Bruins' momentum continued in game three while the Flyers went cold. UCLA took an 8-0 lead. The Bruin block terrorized Lewis with six blocks for points. Even the normally stoic Naeve smiled after he and Taliaferro connected on a broken play. At 11-0, the two teams exchanged 15 sideouts before the Flyers scored their first point from a kill by Ryan McNeil. Lewis went on a 5-1 run with a few blocks of its own but two blocks by Farmer, including one solo stuff, gave UCLA game point. The Bruins took a 2-1 lead in games after Rivera got tangled in the net.

Perhaps the game three win was too easy as the Bruins went into hibernation in game four and Lewis taking an 8-4 lead.

UCLA closed to within three at 9-12 but the Flyers quickly reached game point before the Bruins awoke. UCLA fought off 13 game points and scored a point before a hitting error by Farmer gave Lewis game four.

In game five Lewis took an 8-6 lead and seemed to hold all the momentum, but after the side change UCLA settled down and once again allowed its blocking to take over. Three straight blocks and kills by Taliaferro and Fred Robins gave UCLA a 12-9 lead that it would not relinquish. Fittingly, it was Farmer that hammered the game winning kill for UCLA.

GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily Bruin

Evan Thatcher hits one past Bryan John Wick in the NCAA semifinals.

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