IRVINE — In the press room following Saturday night’s championship win, outside hitter Damien Scott was asked for the key to the UCLA men’s volleyball team’s turnaround against the 49ers. Scott had a terse but powerful response: “Paul George.” Scott was referring to the career effort of junior outside hitter Paul George after the Bruins were thoroughly outplayed by Long Beach State in Game 1 of the MPSF Championship. George led the Bruins with 16 kills, making 12 of those after the team’s disappointing effort in Game 1. George was second on the team with two blocks, and second with 18 receptions. “He completely changed our mentality,” Scott said. “He started hitting the ball as hard as he could and got us fired up with his emotion.” An example of George’s value is one stretch during Game 2. The Bruins were down 24-25, and George came in with three straight serves, including one ace, that gave the Bruins a commanding 27-25 lead they would never give up. “I was just in a rhythm, and we got a few fortunate points,” George said. “I knew that we definitely did not want to fall down 2-0.” George’s effort provided the difference against the 49ers, but it wasn’t always this easy for the redshirt junior from Chatsworth. He had only played in 11 matches total prior to this season, and was playing opposite at the beginning of the season, a position he was not accustomed to. “Even during those trying times, I always kept the belief,” George said. “I knew I had the talent, but I just needed the opportunity.” That opportunity has certainly come. After playing in all the Bruins’ 33 regular-season matches, George led the team in kills for the first time in his career in Thursday’s match against Pepperdine. Then he accomplished the same feat against the 49ers on Saturday. “His play has improved so much – it’s night and day,” UCLA coach Al Scates said. “I wish he could have played like this earlier in the season, but who cares? He’s playing exceptional right now.” George now knows that he will ultimately be judged by the same standard all other UCLA volleyball players are judged – by their ability to win a national title. “I’m not taking anything for granted,” George said. “I know how hard we have come to get here, and I just want to take advantage of the opportunity.”
UCLA RECEIVES NO. 2 SEED: On Sunday, the NCAA men’s volleyball selection committee selected UCLA as the No. 2 seed for this week’s Final Four. UC Irvine, meanwhile, was given the at-large bid and No. 1 seed as it had the league’s best record during the regular season. On Thursday UCLA will be facing No. 3-seeded Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne, which won the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association’s automatic bid. The host of the Final Four, Penn State, was given the No. 4 seed for winning the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament title. “We know that both of the East Coast teams are tough,” Scott said. “But our ultimate goal is to play Irvine. We have lost twice to them this year, but Long Beach beat them pretty well on Thursday, so we know they are beatable.”
PRO-UCLA CROWD: Saturday’s match against Long Beach was expected to feature a throng of 49er fans after they outnumbered Irvine’s fans in Thursday’s semifinal match on Irvine’s home court. But to the surprise of even the Bruin players, UCLA fans came out in full fashion on Saturday. At least 40 percent of the 2,800 fans in attendance supported UCLA, and members of the Bruin Den were in attendance. “They were definitely a huge factor,” Scott said. “Our team loves to feed off the energy of the crowd, and we’re surprised there were so many of them out here.”