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By Pauline Vu Daily Bruin Senior Staff

MALIBU, Calif. – In a league title match with far more than a mere league title riding on it, the No. 3 UCLA men's volleyball team scored a mini-upset over the No. 2 Pepperdine Waves Saturday night to win the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship and, more importantly, earn the MPSF's automatic berth to the NCAA Final Four in Fort Wayne, Ind.

For the fourth-seeded Bruins (27-5), who beat second-seeded Pepperdine (22-5) in four games, 6-15, 15-11, 15-4, 15-9, Saturday's match was a must-win, a last gasp at proving to the world of college volleyball that the Bruins rightfully deserve to play in the Final Four.

That still didn't stop them, however, from opening the championship match like they didn't belong in it.

"We came out flat," UCLA opposite Ed Ratledge said.

"They came out on fire," UCLA outside hitter Mark Williams said of the Waves.

Before a point was scored, Bruin senior setter Brandon Taliaferro was given a yellow card when he thought he served an ace and the referee called it out. Taliaferro raced under the net to dispute the call and the head ref made him return to UCLA's side of the net and gave him the warning.

Pepperdine scored on the very next play, starting a 6-0 streak for the Waves. Behind strong digging (19 digs to UCLA's seven in game one) and a "set 'em fast and smack 'em hard" style of play, Pepperdine won the first game, 15-6.

But that all changed in game two, specifically when the Waves earned the lead at 11-7. It was then that Bruin players came up with big plays and more heart.

Just before serving, senior quick hitter Seth Burnham slammed the ball in his fist and yelled at the team. Freshman middle Scott Morrow hit a ball so hard that it slammed into the arms of Wave setter Kurt Nelson and just sat there. Taliaferro served an ace to tie the game. The Bruins then took the lead when, for UCLA's 12th point, Taliaferro managed a one-handed dig that barely went over the net. The Waves were so surprised he got it at all that freshman middle Brad Keenan passed the ball over to the ref's stand.

"Everybody got fired up at the same time," Burnham said. "Sometimes everybody would be quiet, and then somebody would start yelling."

The big plays continued. In the third set Mark Williams had a dominating solo block over Wave big gun Andre Breuer for UCLA's 10th point. The Bruin junior, normally impassive during play, leapt in the air, pumped his fist and let out a yell.

"I wanted to give our team a boost," Williams said. "So I thought if I yelled loud, that would do it."

It worked. Breuer's next shot was roofed by the net. Teammate Scott Wong sent a ball out-of-bounds. UCLA's Taliaferro won a joust at the net with a back-handed push, and the last two Wave kill attempts went long to give UCLA game three.

In the final game, the Bruins took a 12-7 lead when libero Matt Davis dived to reach a ball that had hit a light fixture in the gym's low ceiling and was coming down fast. He dug it straight up to set it for Matt Komer's kill and the point.

It was this kind of play that won UCLA its 23rd conference championship.

"I'm real proud of the team, beating Pepperdine in their gym after being blown out 15-6 (in the first game)," UCLA head coach Al Scates said. "It's a tribute to the boys and their fighting instinct."

The Bruins had two main things going for them: an unstoppable block (21 blocks to the Waves' 14), and strong serving that not only got six aces, but also often disjointed the Pepperdine passing.

But UCLA won simply because everyone was hot. Five Bruin hitters hit double-digit kills for at least a .333 percentage.

Ratledge, who came off the bench to lead the team with 27 kills, was extremely satisfied after the match. "It's a great win for UCLA volleyball," he said. "This whole playoff run has been great."

Pepperdine head coach Jeff Stork was still pleased with his team, despite the loss. "We played with a lot of heart," he said.

UCLA will now play in the NCAA semifinals against No. 15 Penn State, the Eastern (EIVA) conference champions. The Waves, who got the at-large berth, will face No. 4 Ohio State, the Midwestern (MIVA) champion.

Everybody is already thinking about what's upcoming in Indiana.

"After a win like this, we just got to keep working," Seth Burnham said. "This doesn't mean anything until we win it all."

Wave junior Keith Barnett, whose team must beat Ohio State to play the winner of the UCLA-Penn State game in the title match, said, "Hopefully we'll see the Bruins in Indiana."

Asked if he was excited about going to Indiana, team captain Brandon Taliaferro gave his answer in an "Are-you-really-asking-me-this?" tone.

"I'm going to the Final Four. I've got a chance to win the national championship – of course I'm excited," he said with a laugh.

That's pretty obvious. After the match ended, the Bruins rushed the court to celebrate and line up to shake hands with the Pepperdine team.

But first, while the Waves waited, Taliaferro gathered the Bruins in a circle and told the team just one thing: that they still have two matches left.