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Friday, February 26, 1999

Cougars on the prowl for Bruins; key UCLA player out with injury

M.VOLLEYBALL: Naeve out with sprained ankle; team to face No. 1 BYU

By Pauline Vu

Daily Bruin Contributor

The No. 2 men's volleyball team has more to battle this weekend than just No. 1 BYU, rowdy Cougar fans and a referee who happens to give all the close games to the home team, according to UCLA coach Al Scates, who says, "He's a respectable bishop of the Mormon church."

These aren't the worst of the Bruins' (11-3 overall, 9-2 MPSF) problems - they also have to contend with two losses: an upset loss to unranked UC Irvine, snapping an eight-game winning streak and the loss of first team All-American and team leader quick hitter Adam Naeve to a high ankle sprain.

"The other players will just have to play up and take up the slack," Scates said. "Adam's one of the dominating middle blockers in the country. To lose him is to lose a lot."

Naeve landed hard on his ankle at the UCI match and will be out for at least two weeks and five matches.

The timing couldn't be worse. Before the UCI loss, this weekend's two games would have likely decided the Mountain Division champions.

In place of Naeve, backups Seth Champi and Matt Grace will step up. Wednesday's starters quick hitter Danny Farmer and outside hitter Fred Robins earned praise from Scates for their play, as well as opposite Ed Ratledge, who came off the bench to replace Evan Thatcher.

BYU coach Carl McGown has nothing but praise for the Bruins.

"To find out how good you are in basketball, you play Duke. In men's volleyball, you play UCLA. This match should let us know where we are," said McGown.

BYU (11-0, 8-0) isn't lacking either. They have eight returning starters in a sport that only starts six people. This is possible by starters who are returning after going on the mission required by the Mormon church.

"They're all solid players, but two are superstars," Scates said, referring to opposite Ossie Antonetti and hitter Ryan Millar.

Antonetti gets 5.6 kills a game and, though shorter than most opposites at 6-foot-2, is deceptively fast. Millar, currently being courted by the Olympic team, is an even more powerful middle blocking force with 4.6 kills a game and 0.6 aces a game.

The last BYU advantage - though he doesn't wear a number or show up on the roster - is referee Tom Givens.

"He makes sure they win all the close games. Am I serious? Yes," Scates said. Givens is egged on by loyal BYU fans who broke the men's volleyball attendance record last week with 14,156, toppling the previous record held by Hawaii at 10,225.

"Every time (Givens) makes a horrible call they applaud, yell and scream. He thinks he's doing a great job," Scates said.

Both Scates and McGown expect the Smith Fieldhouse, where the teams will be playing, to fill to capacity. Though it only seats about 3,000, at least 5,000 fans will show up.

Even when Givens is not the referee, just the linesman, he has impact.

"He can actually screw you just as well from the linesman position as from the referee. He calls the ticky-tack things that no one ever calls, like an overlap or grazing the net after a block." Scates said.

This will hurt a team that didn't exactly enter Wednesday's match with a fighting mentality.

"After the match we talked about being ready to play. We can't be flat or we'll get beat by just about everybody," Scates said.

"I'm not gonna give the team pep talks. They have to be excited about playing everytime on the floor. Only a couple of the players were," he added of the UCI match.

In contrast the Cougars are riding their undefeated streak.

"We've had very good energy, good intensity for a number of matches in a row," McGown said.

To this the Bruins must overcome their mentality and the loss of Naeve, who has been a consistent force for the past three years, to face their greatest challenge of the season.

Scates still believes in his team.

"This is the best opponent we've played yet, but we can beat anybody anytime we play well," he said.

McGown's prediction for the match's outcome for pro-UCLA.

"I'm picking the Bruins to win. They've beaten us before and they beat us all the time," he said.

But this statement was before Adam Naeve was injured.

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