Post by Bruins on Apr 1, 2003 4:43:13 GMT -5
What a year. 
Finger injury ends Morrow’s college career
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TYSON EVANS/Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Scott Morrow’s college career has come to an end from an injury to his finger during Thursday’s game.
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By Diamond Leung
DAILY BRUIN SENIOR STAFF
dleung@media.ucla.edu
Scott Morrow made it look easy blocking volleyballs for UCLA.
But for the three-time all-conference middle blocker, pain was always much more difficult to block out. The already-injured Morrow suffered a major dislocation to his finger Thursday at Cal State Northridge that will end his college career.
"This was a bummer," the soft-spoken Morrow said.
Morrow, currently fifth on the all-time UCLA blocking list, was injured doing what he does best. A hard-hit ball banged off the top of the index finger on his non-hitting hand, causing the finger bonds to tear tendons and visibly protrude from the skin.
The on-site training staff was unsuccessful in pulling his tendons back into place, so he was sent to a local hospital that did not finish the painful procedure until early Friday morning.
With only four matches left to play, there is no time left for the finger to heal.
A rare four-year starter in the program, Morrow was just beginning to show signs of his old self after recovering from a lingering knee injury. He was blocking as well as he had been all year and had upped his hitting percentage to .397.
"He had regained that lost step," head coach Al Scates said. "He was back to normal."
Earlier in the match, a CSUN fan spotted the knee brace Morrow was wearing and focused his heckling on the injury that caused Morrow to miss matches last season and the first nine this year. Morrow underwent surgery on the knee last November after tearing it in March.
Knowing that he would go into this season banged up, Morrow was given the option to redshirt. But the First-Team Academic All-MPSF player chose to play since he had already lined up a job at a big accounting firm that he would start work at after graduating this spring with a degree in business economics.
Morrow may need some early vacation time because he has been selected to try out for the U.S. World University Games team, which will compete in Daegu, Korea this August.
Scates was going to inform Morrow of this achievement after the season.
"Well, his season's over now," Scates said.
Sophomore Paul Johnson will be the top candidate to step in for Morrow. Junior Matt Shubin, Morrow's replacement earlier in the season, is still recovering from a sprained ankle.
•••
Outside hitter Saul Zemaitaitis is taking full advantage of the first significant playing time of his career. The redshirt freshman has averaged two digs per game since Scates called him at midnight before the second Hawai'i match last month to inform him that he would be suiting up against the hot-serving Warriors.
Zemaitaitis subbed in at outside hitter and later took over for libero Adam Shrader showing off impressive ball-control skills to help take a game from Hawai'i. Most recently, Zemaitaitis came off the bench against CSUN to record a career-high 14 digs.
He was slated to start at the beginning of the season, but knee tendinitis and a sprained ankle cost him his spots in the lineup and on the first court in practice.
"It was frustrating to not be out there," Zemaitaitis said. "But it comes with the program, and it is a good thing because it makes you play your 'A' game at all times."
Finger injury ends Morrow’s college career
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TYSON EVANS/Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Scott Morrow’s college career has come to an end from an injury to his finger during Thursday’s game.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Diamond Leung
DAILY BRUIN SENIOR STAFF
dleung@media.ucla.edu
Scott Morrow made it look easy blocking volleyballs for UCLA.
But for the three-time all-conference middle blocker, pain was always much more difficult to block out. The already-injured Morrow suffered a major dislocation to his finger Thursday at Cal State Northridge that will end his college career.
"This was a bummer," the soft-spoken Morrow said.
Morrow, currently fifth on the all-time UCLA blocking list, was injured doing what he does best. A hard-hit ball banged off the top of the index finger on his non-hitting hand, causing the finger bonds to tear tendons and visibly protrude from the skin.
The on-site training staff was unsuccessful in pulling his tendons back into place, so he was sent to a local hospital that did not finish the painful procedure until early Friday morning.
With only four matches left to play, there is no time left for the finger to heal.
A rare four-year starter in the program, Morrow was just beginning to show signs of his old self after recovering from a lingering knee injury. He was blocking as well as he had been all year and had upped his hitting percentage to .397.
"He had regained that lost step," head coach Al Scates said. "He was back to normal."
Earlier in the match, a CSUN fan spotted the knee brace Morrow was wearing and focused his heckling on the injury that caused Morrow to miss matches last season and the first nine this year. Morrow underwent surgery on the knee last November after tearing it in March.
Knowing that he would go into this season banged up, Morrow was given the option to redshirt. But the First-Team Academic All-MPSF player chose to play since he had already lined up a job at a big accounting firm that he would start work at after graduating this spring with a degree in business economics.
Morrow may need some early vacation time because he has been selected to try out for the U.S. World University Games team, which will compete in Daegu, Korea this August.
Scates was going to inform Morrow of this achievement after the season.
"Well, his season's over now," Scates said.
Sophomore Paul Johnson will be the top candidate to step in for Morrow. Junior Matt Shubin, Morrow's replacement earlier in the season, is still recovering from a sprained ankle.
•••
Outside hitter Saul Zemaitaitis is taking full advantage of the first significant playing time of his career. The redshirt freshman has averaged two digs per game since Scates called him at midnight before the second Hawai'i match last month to inform him that he would be suiting up against the hot-serving Warriors.
Zemaitaitis subbed in at outside hitter and later took over for libero Adam Shrader showing off impressive ball-control skills to help take a game from Hawai'i. Most recently, Zemaitaitis came off the bench against CSUN to record a career-high 14 digs.
He was slated to start at the beginning of the season, but knee tendinitis and a sprained ankle cost him his spots in the lineup and on the first court in practice.
"It was frustrating to not be out there," Zemaitaitis said. "But it comes with the program, and it is a good thing because it makes you play your 'A' game at all times."
