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Going out in a blaze of glory

M. volleyball's four seniors leave school with NCAA title and a host of awards

By Eric Branch

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Talk about going out in style.

Each of the four graduating seniors on the UCLA men's volleyball team left school with more than a national championship after sweeping Penn State Saturday night in Springfield, Mass.

Senior swing hitter Jeff Nygaard finished his banner career fittingly, receiving a host of honors and accolades. For the second consecutive year, UCLA's all-time kills leader was named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Year and NCAA Player of the Year. To finish up, Nygaard was selected as the Tournament Most Outstanding Player after racking up 31 kills, 21 digs and 12 blocks in the Bruins' victories over Ball State and PSU.

After following an All-American junior season with the worst hitting percentage of his career, swing hitter Kevin Wong broke out at the perfect time. Wong blasted 15 kills (.360 hitting percentage) in the NCAA final and punctuated his career with the match-ending kill.

Swing hitter and two-year captain Erik Sullivan earned All-American honors for the second straight year. Sullivan was named to the second team after ranking ninth nationally in digs per game (2.5) and fourth in the MPSF. Sullivan's 739 career digs place him just 15 kills behind former Bruin All-American Asbjorn Volstad's school record.

Finally, after waiting to start until his senior year, quick hitter John Speraw left Westwood by stringing together two magnificent matches. In the semifinal and final win Speraw posted 18 kills (.586 hitting percentage, ), 12 blocks and 12 digs. Speraw was named to the all-tournament team for his efforts.

"It was the ideal way for all of us to go out," Speraw said. "If I thought beforehand how we wanted our careers to end, this is what I would have come up with."

* * *

While the Bruins were celebrating their 15th national title, PSU All-American swing hitter Ed Josefowski helped put things in perspective. Just prior to the start of the tournament Josefowski's father suffered a heart attack.

Josefowski went ahead and played in Friday's semifinal win over Hawaii, posting 29 kills. However, on Saturday night it was obvious Josefowski was battling more than just the Bruin block.

"I didn't think too much about volleyball this weekend," Josefowski said Saturday night. "My mind was pretty much away from it all the time until I walked out on the court. Honestly, last night (against Hawaii) I felt bad playing the match and not thinking about him. And I felt bad when I did think about him ...

"I think all too often we put too much emphasis on volleyball, on wins and losses and performances. I think I learned it comes secondary. This weekend put it all in perspective."

* * *

Somewhat overlooked by the performance of the UCLA seniors was the play of junior setter Stein Metzger. The '95 first-team All-American dished out 109 assists (18.2 per game) in the two matches while almost flawlessly orchestrating the Bruin offense.

"I don't think people realize what a great match Stein set," Sullivan said. "He connected with all of us almost perfectly. He was great tonight."

Metzger joined Nygaard and Speraw on the all-tournament team. Also making the team were Todd Reimer (Ball State), Yuval Katz (Hawaii) and Ivan Contreras (Penn State).

* * *

Although the cupboard may appear to be bare with the departure of Nygaard, Sullivan, Wong and Speraw ­ sophomore opposite Paul Nihipali isn't losing too much sleep worrying about it.

"Stein and I are coming back and we're taking four more people to a championship," Nihipali said.

* * *

* The Bruins 31-1 record gave them the most wins since the 1987 edition went 38-3 ...

* Friday's victory over Ball State gave UCLA a 17-0 record in NCAA semifinals ...

* The Bruins now have a 15-3 (.833) record in championship matches ...

* The Bruin seniors leave with 42 straight conference victories, 34 straight home victories, the No. 1 ranking in the AVCA coaches' poll for 34 consecutive weeks and a 99-13 (.883) record since 1992 ...

* UCLA head coach Al Scates ranks first among all active collegiate coaches with NCAA titles in a single sport.

* Saturday's victory gave UCLA its 71st overall NCAA team title.

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