Springfield or bust: Bruins off to Final Four

Monday, May 1, 1995

Springfield or bust: Bruins off to Final Four

Bruin seniors amass 97 wins in remarkable five

years together, looking for two more in NCAAs

By Lawrence Ma

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

For UCLA seniors Kevin Wong, Erik Sullivan, John Speraw and Jeff Nygaard, Saturday's Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship match was one that they'll remember for quite some time.

The top-ranked Bruins defeated No. 2 Hawaii to win the league title and to advance to the NCAA Championships. It's a significant accomplishment, but as significant is the fact that Saturday's match was also the four seniors' last home match in Westwood.

It's been a remarkable run for these four Bruin seniors. After redshirting together in 1990, they have all become starters for UCLA in their senior season. They have won 97 matches and lost just 13. They've gone to the NCAA Final Four twice and won a title in 1993, at Pauley Pavilion, no less.

This week, in Springfield, Mass., the four will make their third Final Four appearance, hoping to put the finishing touches on their five years together by winning UCLA's 15th NCAA title.

"All this kind of stuff kind of sneaks up on you," said Sullivan, the team's captain for the past two years. "They're out there announcing your name and it's your last match, and you look around and think, 'Wow, five years have gone by so quickly.'"

"It's something to be playing with these guys after all these years," Speraw said. "Kevin, Sullie, Nygaard and myself came in together. It's a sweet feeling to be going out together. You couldn't ask for anything more."

When Wong, Sullivan, Speraw and Nygaard first came to UCLA five years ago, they lived primarily in obscurity. They toiled in the weight room and punished each other on the notorious Bronze Medal court in Men's Gym, hidden away from the first team by a giant blue curtain.

"When they got here, these guys went to the second court and redshirted," head coach Al Scates said. "And I'd stick my head over there once in a while to see how they're doing. Every time I did, they were working like crazy."

Nygaard was the first to make it over the giant blue curtain.

"I brought Nygaard over to be (former Long Beach State All-American) Brent Hilliard, who was the big hitter in the league back then, and he was Brent Hilliard," Scates said. "So, I knew I really had something."

Nygaard, along with Wong and Sullivan, all made it off the Bronze Medal court in their first season of eligibility. It was a rough first season, as the Bruins went 17-7 and missed the playoffs.

But the Bruins turned it around in 1993, winning the school's 14th NCAA title. Nygaard, who was the 1992 Freshman of the Year, became a first team All-American. Wong earned honorable mention All-American honors as he and Sullivan became the top passing tandem in the nation. In 1994, Nygaard became the Player of the Year, while Sullivan and Wong both made All-American.

Speraw was the last of the four to make it into the starting lineup. Despite being a three-time prep All-American, the 6-foot-5-inch Speraw had 6-10 All-Conference middle blocker Tim Kelly ahead of him. But he hung in there, and finally earned a starting spot this season.

"It took John five years to start," Scates said. "He's very small for a UCLA middle blocker, but he does so many things for us. It's great to see the four of them come through and start for us."

For assistant coach Brian Rofer, who came to UCLA with these four seniors in 1991, it will be tough to see Wong, Sullivan, Speraw and Nygaard go.

"Jeff Nygaard, a couple of months ago, asked me, 'So Coach, what are you going to do after this year?' I told him I think I'm still going to be here, but after I walked away, I thought it's almost like I should be graduating with these guys because we all came in together and learned the ropes.

"We went through a lot of tough times together. The first two years, we had two of the worst years of this volleyball program. These guys worked their butts off. It's been a roller coaster, up until the last couple of years. They're a great group of guys."

For the seniors however, it is not quite time to sit and reminisce. There is still the matter of the NCAA Championships. There is still the haunting memory of the upset they suffered at the hands of Penn State in the championship match in last year's title game.

UCLA has amassed a 29-1 record, with the one loss against Ball State, which will play the Bruins in the NCAA semifinal. Hawaii, which received the at-large bid, will play Penn State in the other semifinal.

"These last few matches gave us a lot of chances for redemption," Speraw said. "Brigham Young (which UCLA beat in the MPSF semifinal) was one of our losses last year and a five-gamer this year. Hawaii was one of the five-gamers this year.

"And now, we get an opportunity to play Ball State, our one loss this year. But what I really want is Penn State to beat Hawaii in the Final Four. I want Penn State in the finals."