Post by bigfan on May 8, 2006 20:11:18 GMT -5
'Unbelievable’
After a rough start to their season, the Bruins return for an NCAA title ending on 14-win streak
CAROLYN KASTER/the associated press
UCLA redshirt seniors Dennis Gonzalez (left), Nick Scheftic (center) and Damien Scott celebrate the Bruins’ national championship victory over Penn State in State College, Pa., on Saturday. The Bruins won 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, but had to overcome late deficits in each game to come away with what was UCLA coach Al Scates’ 19th NCAA title.
By Michael Wozny
DAILY BRUIN REPORTER
mwozny@media.ucla.edu
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The comeback is complete.
The UCLA men's volleyball team claimed its 19th NCAA Championship on Saturday with a 3-0 victory over host Penn State to finish one of the most improbable title runs in volleyball history.
Less than two months ago, the Bruins were ninth in their conference, but since then UCLA (26-12) has conquered every opponent, racking up a 14-match winning streak.
During the magical season, the Bruins overcame inexperience and injury. They shifted gears, reaching speeds that opponents were powerless to slow.
UCLA cruised through the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs to capture the league title, then soundly defeated their two challengers in the NCAA Championships.
And now the Bruins are national champions for the first time since 2000 after their 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 victory in front of a sold-out crowd of 5,453 at Penn State's Rec Hall.
"Winning the championship is unbelievable," redshirt senior setter Dennis Gonzalez said. "This is what every person plays for. This is why we came to UCLA, and it's a dream come true to accomplish our lifelong goal. It is just so satisfying, especially considering how big of a comeback we made."
CAROLYN KASTER/the associated press
UCLA’s Nick Scheftic (right) goes up to block a shot by Penn State’s Nate Meerstein during the Bruins’ NCAA Championship win on Saturday.
The win gives UCLA coach Al Scates his 19th NCAA title, which ties the record held by Arkansas track and field coach John McDonnell for the most NCAA championships in a single sport, and a record of 19-6 in NCAA title matches.
Although Scates has reached the sport's pinnacle so many times – with 21 overall national titles – he views this season as one of the most satisfying in his illustrious career.
"I have to count this as one of the best championships I've ever coached because our team was 5-10 in the league, and these guys never doubted we could do this," Scates said. "They worked hard all year with this goal in mind and really believed in each other, even when we were down."
The struggles the Bruins faced earlier in the season makes the championship taste all the sweeter. UCLA's 12 losses were the second most in school history and the most by an NCAA champion.
The Bruins' last game was emblematic of their entire year, erasing late deficits in each game with a hot streak that was fueled by adrenaline and defiant will.
In Game 1, neither team ever led by more than four points, and there were five lead changes with 11 tie scores.
UCLA jumped out to a 12-8 lead with strong serving and blocking, but Penn State came out of a timeout to tie the score at 14-14.
The Nittany Lions grabbed their first two-point lead of the game at 23-21, but a UCLA timeout stalled the Penn State momentum, causing the home team to make consecutive errors and tie the score once again.
From there, it was all UCLA for the rest of the game. The Bruins secured the 30-27 Game 1 win on three consecutive kills by redshirt senior Damien Scott, who didn't miss on any of his six kill attempts in the first game.
"Even though we were late in the game, once it got down to the end we just turned it on really hard," junior opposite Steve Klosterman said. "It just always seems to work out in our favor, and it's been like that all season."
With the thunderous support of the home crowd behind them, the Nittany Lions took an early 5-2 lead in Game 2 that soon became an 18-10 advantage.
But just as they had done at other bleak moments during the year, the Bruins elevated their play when it was least expected.
"The hostile crowd fired us up even more, and when we get a good play and silence the crowd, it makes you feel like you have all the power," sophomore libero Tony Ker said.
UCLA drew energy from the crowd and responded with a 10-2 run, closing the gap to 21-20 and silencing the packed arena.
During the comeback, redshirt freshman Jamie Diefenbach came in and gave the Bruins a boost off the bench with three kills and three blocks. Redshirt junior outside hitter Paul George also stepped up on several solid blocks on Penn State's top hitter, Matt Proper.
But mostly, the Bruins attribute their euphoric run to their will to not let even a single game slip away.
"Even when we were down by so much in the second game, we still had that determination to win," Klosterman said. "We kept up our constant pressure on Penn State, which allowed us to slowly come back as we got big points when we needed them and started to shut down their main hitters."
With all the momentum behind them, the Bruins tied the score at 25-25 on a Penn State attack error, their ninth of the game.
UCLA took its first lead on a Klosterman ace to go up 28-27 and finished off the second game with a block and a kill by Gonzalez.
Although Penn State erupted with a 0-3 lead in the third game, the Bruins responded once again to take an 8-7 advantage. Game 3 was close the rest of the way, until UCLA sensed the championship almost in its grasp and broke out of a 23-23 tie to take the match 30-27.
"We could smell the finish line and weren't going to let anything get in our way of the national championship," Klosterman said.
For the match, the Bruins hit .298 while limiting the Nittany Lions to .157. UCLA also dominated the block, racking up 16 blocks, compared to nine for Penn State.
In closing out such an unlikely streak, UCLA's sweep of Penn State in front of thousands of Nittany Lion fans displayed a dominance that was never associated with this Bruin team. That is, until now.
"This team didn't get very much respect, but the way they came back showed their drive to accomplish the only goal that matters: a national championship," Scates said.
These Bruins not only won the NCAA title, they cemented their legacy as one of the most remarkable teams to play at UCLA – a list that is as decorated as any other in the country.
"This is one of the best things to ever happen to me, and nothing can get better than this," Scott said. "I can't imagine going out any better way."
After a rough start to their season, the Bruins return for an NCAA title ending on 14-win streak
CAROLYN KASTER/the associated press
UCLA redshirt seniors Dennis Gonzalez (left), Nick Scheftic (center) and Damien Scott celebrate the Bruins’ national championship victory over Penn State in State College, Pa., on Saturday. The Bruins won 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, but had to overcome late deficits in each game to come away with what was UCLA coach Al Scates’ 19th NCAA title.
By Michael Wozny
DAILY BRUIN REPORTER
mwozny@media.ucla.edu
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The comeback is complete.
The UCLA men's volleyball team claimed its 19th NCAA Championship on Saturday with a 3-0 victory over host Penn State to finish one of the most improbable title runs in volleyball history.
Less than two months ago, the Bruins were ninth in their conference, but since then UCLA (26-12) has conquered every opponent, racking up a 14-match winning streak.
During the magical season, the Bruins overcame inexperience and injury. They shifted gears, reaching speeds that opponents were powerless to slow.
UCLA cruised through the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs to capture the league title, then soundly defeated their two challengers in the NCAA Championships.
And now the Bruins are national champions for the first time since 2000 after their 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 victory in front of a sold-out crowd of 5,453 at Penn State's Rec Hall.
"Winning the championship is unbelievable," redshirt senior setter Dennis Gonzalez said. "This is what every person plays for. This is why we came to UCLA, and it's a dream come true to accomplish our lifelong goal. It is just so satisfying, especially considering how big of a comeback we made."
CAROLYN KASTER/the associated press
UCLA’s Nick Scheftic (right) goes up to block a shot by Penn State’s Nate Meerstein during the Bruins’ NCAA Championship win on Saturday.
The win gives UCLA coach Al Scates his 19th NCAA title, which ties the record held by Arkansas track and field coach John McDonnell for the most NCAA championships in a single sport, and a record of 19-6 in NCAA title matches.
Although Scates has reached the sport's pinnacle so many times – with 21 overall national titles – he views this season as one of the most satisfying in his illustrious career.
"I have to count this as one of the best championships I've ever coached because our team was 5-10 in the league, and these guys never doubted we could do this," Scates said. "They worked hard all year with this goal in mind and really believed in each other, even when we were down."
The struggles the Bruins faced earlier in the season makes the championship taste all the sweeter. UCLA's 12 losses were the second most in school history and the most by an NCAA champion.
The Bruins' last game was emblematic of their entire year, erasing late deficits in each game with a hot streak that was fueled by adrenaline and defiant will.
In Game 1, neither team ever led by more than four points, and there were five lead changes with 11 tie scores.
UCLA jumped out to a 12-8 lead with strong serving and blocking, but Penn State came out of a timeout to tie the score at 14-14.
The Nittany Lions grabbed their first two-point lead of the game at 23-21, but a UCLA timeout stalled the Penn State momentum, causing the home team to make consecutive errors and tie the score once again.
From there, it was all UCLA for the rest of the game. The Bruins secured the 30-27 Game 1 win on three consecutive kills by redshirt senior Damien Scott, who didn't miss on any of his six kill attempts in the first game.
"Even though we were late in the game, once it got down to the end we just turned it on really hard," junior opposite Steve Klosterman said. "It just always seems to work out in our favor, and it's been like that all season."
With the thunderous support of the home crowd behind them, the Nittany Lions took an early 5-2 lead in Game 2 that soon became an 18-10 advantage.
But just as they had done at other bleak moments during the year, the Bruins elevated their play when it was least expected.
"The hostile crowd fired us up even more, and when we get a good play and silence the crowd, it makes you feel like you have all the power," sophomore libero Tony Ker said.
UCLA drew energy from the crowd and responded with a 10-2 run, closing the gap to 21-20 and silencing the packed arena.
During the comeback, redshirt freshman Jamie Diefenbach came in and gave the Bruins a boost off the bench with three kills and three blocks. Redshirt junior outside hitter Paul George also stepped up on several solid blocks on Penn State's top hitter, Matt Proper.
But mostly, the Bruins attribute their euphoric run to their will to not let even a single game slip away.
"Even when we were down by so much in the second game, we still had that determination to win," Klosterman said. "We kept up our constant pressure on Penn State, which allowed us to slowly come back as we got big points when we needed them and started to shut down their main hitters."
With all the momentum behind them, the Bruins tied the score at 25-25 on a Penn State attack error, their ninth of the game.
UCLA took its first lead on a Klosterman ace to go up 28-27 and finished off the second game with a block and a kill by Gonzalez.
Although Penn State erupted with a 0-3 lead in the third game, the Bruins responded once again to take an 8-7 advantage. Game 3 was close the rest of the way, until UCLA sensed the championship almost in its grasp and broke out of a 23-23 tie to take the match 30-27.
"We could smell the finish line and weren't going to let anything get in our way of the national championship," Klosterman said.
For the match, the Bruins hit .298 while limiting the Nittany Lions to .157. UCLA also dominated the block, racking up 16 blocks, compared to nine for Penn State.
In closing out such an unlikely streak, UCLA's sweep of Penn State in front of thousands of Nittany Lion fans displayed a dominance that was never associated with this Bruin team. That is, until now.
"This team didn't get very much respect, but the way they came back showed their drive to accomplish the only goal that matters: a national championship," Scates said.
These Bruins not only won the NCAA title, they cemented their legacy as one of the most remarkable teams to play at UCLA – a list that is as decorated as any other in the country.
"This is one of the best things to ever happen to me, and nothing can get better than this," Scott said. "I can't imagine going out any better way."
