Aspiring Bruins anxiously await their curtain calls

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

At every UCLA men's volleyball practice for more than three decades — in the John Wooden Center and this year in Pauley Pavilion, now that the Wooden Center is being renovated — a blue curtain is used as a divider to create two courts.

The curtain, UCLA coaches insist, keeps errant shots from trespassing from one court to the other. But through the years, the curtain has become the symbol of what separates UCLA from other college volleyball teams.

Behind the blue curtain is UCLA's future — former high school All-Americans battling for the chance to join the Bruins' top two rotations on the First Court.

"All of those guys were standouts in high school," said senior outside hitter Matt Komer, who began his UCLA career practicing behind the curtain. "They're waiting for the opportunity to play."

NCAA volleyball rules limit a team's active roster to 12, but there are no restrictions on the number of players who may practice. That has been a source of wonder — and envy — for opposing coaches, who view the blue curtain as a magician's bag. Hawai'i coaches, preparing for matches against UCLA Friday and Saturday, have often asked, "Who is behind the curtain?"

"I guess we have more players than other teams," UCLA coach Al Scates said. "Other teams cut their players. It's their choice. But we have the staff and court space to keep more players."

UH, in comparison, limits its men's roster to 18 to help balance the gender-equity scale. Scates said he has 24 players, with the first two teams practicing on the First Court. Komer said there are "about 14-15 freshmen back there" on the Second Court. That estimate would seem to inflate Scates' roster.

"It must be nice to have that kind of depth," UH coach Mike Wilton said.

With outside hitter Jonathan Acosta and quick hitter Scott Morrow unavailable for this week's matches, Scates has been able to promote Second Court players to the top two rotations. The moves are why opposing scouts note that UCLA replacements really do come from out of the blue.

Komer, a team captain, remembered when he moved to the First Court. "I was scared," he said, noting the path between the courts went in both directions. "It was very competitive. I had to be focused every day and play my hardest. If I messed up, I could be on the bench — or not on the bench."

Scates said several players — including Jeff Nygaard, Kevin Wong and Erik Sullivan — "started behind the blue curtain and went on to become Olympians. Steve Salmons, one of our greatest middles, walked on (as a UCLA freshman) and then became an Olympic gold medalist."

There appears to be no shortage of candidates willing to follow Salmons' route. Komer is the only Bruin receiving a full scholarship; NCAA teams are limited to offering the financial value of 4.5 scholarships.

Scates said he receives dozens of inquiries each year, mostly from volleyball-rich Southern California, where top area prospects are willing to pay the $8,000 annually for tuition and books in exchange for the chance to win a national title.

Under Scates, UCLA has won 21 national titles, including 18 NCAA championships. While the Bruins lose prospects to Stanford every so often, they are nearly unbeatable against other schools after they target a recruit.

Nearly "everybody who has played here has won an NCAA championship," said Scates, who refined his coaching approach after attending several of Wooden's basketball practices. UCLA players are led by a coach who has said: "I like to win. I'm motivated to win."

Komer said he considered playing collegiate basketball. But after Scates called: "I wanted to go to UCLA. It was proven. Everybody (who goes to UCLA) gets a ring."