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  EDWARD LIN/Daily Bruin Senior quick hitter Adam Naeve stretches for a smash on Saturday at BYU's Smith Fieldhouse. UCLA d. Hawaii 30-27, 30-23, 15-30, 30-27

By Pauline Vu

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

PROVO, Utah — They were playing a team as determined as themselves, a team in the same desperate situation – win, or go home and wish you had.

Saturday night the UCLA men’s volleyball team decided they weren’t going to be left wondering. In front of 481 people at BYU’s Smith Fieldhouse, the third-seeded Bruins beat fourth-seeded Hawai’i 30-27, 30-23, 15-30, 30-27 for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship and an automatic berth into this week’s NCAA Tournament.

Both teams had to win to get the automatic bid into the Final Four, because with Hawai’i’s upset of BYU in the MPSF semifinals, everyone knew BYU would get the at-large berth.

The game against Hawai’i was one of UCLA’s toughest of the year. The Warriors out-played the Bruins in every major category: hitting percentage, serving, digs and blocks.

Every major category, that is, except what was on the scoreboard.

“If you look at the stats sheet you see that we out-blocked them, we out-dug them, we out-hit them, but they scored more points,” Hawai’i Coach Mike Wilton said. “Maybe not total for the match, but they scored more points for the games and they won.”

The Bruins controlled the first two games, and were especially powerful in the second, where they hit .564 as a team.

But then came the 10-minute TV break, common in matches against Hawai’i because the Warriors televise most of their games.

“This 10-minute break is something we’re not used to,” UCLA Coach Al Scates said.

That set up the Bruins’ loss in game three, possibly UCLA’s ugliest all year. They were behind by 15 points, their largest losing margin this season.

The Bruins’ problem that game wasn’t so much them playing flat as the Warriors coming out hot. Hawai’i scored points in runs of three to five and its players put up powerful blocks and capitalized on Bruin errors. UCLA couldn’t match Hawai’i’s energy and was humiliated with a 30-15 spanking.

Hawai’i carried that momentum over to the next game, scoring the first point for the first time all evening. The Warriors built a 4-2 lead and a fan called out, “The Bruins are out of steam!” before UCLA mounted its charge.

But then you could tell, here more than anywhere else in the match, how much the Bruins wanted this one.

“We came out in the fourth game with the mentality that we didn’t want to go to five games,” sophomore Rich Nelson said.

With Hawai’i up 15-13, a media timeout was called. During that time senior Adam Naeve, who normally keeps his emotions intact during matches, looked angrily at his teammates.

“This is bullshit!” he yelled. “We could play better than this!”

Sophomore outside hitter Cameron Mount said that the Bruins needed Naeve to step up then.

“He usually is (laid back), but whenever we’re down and need a kick in the butt, Naeve gives it to us,” he said. “Sometimes it helps to have someone yell at you to get you back in the game.”

The Bruins caught up, matched the Warriors point-for-point until the teams were tied at 21, and then steadily pulled away for the win.

There was one move in particular that symbolized UCLA’s determination and smart play that game. A strong Warrior kill resulted in an awkward dig by Scott Morrow that shot behind him – into Mark Williams’ face. That ricocheted to the middle of the court where Nelson quickly pushed it over the net.

The Warriors, taken aback, couldn’t dig it. UCLA went up 23-21.

Asked if that was the first time he ever set a ball off his face, Williams answered, smiling, “Yeah, it was. It hurt, too.”

Naeve led the team with 19 kills (at a .517 hitting percentage), Williams followed with 17 (.286) and Morrow added 13 (.522).

The Warriors were quiet after the match. Though his presence was requested, Brenton Davis didn’t show up to the press conference. Costas Theocharidis spoke briefly about serving and other things as if they no longer mattered. Dejan Milanovic held a stoic look and didn’t say a word. Kimo Tuyay also didn’t say a thing, though his red-rimmed eyes spoke volumes.

Their coach was willing to speak, though.

“There’s no team that I’d rather be associated with,” Wilton said. “Maybe our season’s over, but I’m proud that I can be a volleyball coach of these guys.

“I just wish for something that’s already gone by. I wish we could’ve gotten off to a smoother start.”

The championship win was in some sense a measure of revenge at the MPSF, which voted no Bruin to its first team.

UCLA attributed this to its team play.

“We don’t have one or two guys who showcase themselves every night,” junior Matt Komer said. “We have a team.”

“Everybody just ignores us till the end of the year,” Scates added. “We just sneak up on people.”

Throughout the season the Bruins have gone from matches where they knocked off top-ranked teams to matches where they were swept clean.

But one thing is for sure: they know how to win when it matters most.

“We always come around at the end of the season,” Naeve said. “We set a goal at the beginning of the season to win the championship and now it’s coming down to that time.”

• • •

BYU was officially awarded the at-large berth to the NCAA Final Four on Sunday. The Cougars are the No. 2 seed. By right of being MPSF champions the Bruins are the No. 1 seed of the tournament. Eastern conference champion Penn State received the No. 3 seed and Midwest champion Ohio State got the No. 4 seed.

NCAA play begins Thursday at The Pyramid at Long Beach State. UCLA will open the tournament playing Ohio State in the afternoon, followed by the BYU-Penn State game.

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