UH volleyball team begins MPSF play
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
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For when it comes to proof that less is more, this sport's for you, Bud.
While participation is increasing in high school and club programs across the country, the number of NCAA men's volleyball programs has dropped to 41.
"With only so many teams," Pepperdine coach Marv Dunphy said, "the quality of the play is at the highest."
Hawai'i coach Mike Wilton, whose team opens MPSF play at Stanford today, likened his sport to an NCAA men's basketball season in which just 100 teams competed.
"What would each of those teams be like?" Wilton said. "Everybody would be at the top of the Sagarin power ratings."
Said UC Santa Barbara coach Ken Preston: "With so many kids in the country playing volleyball, if you don't have talent in your program, you're doing something wrong. Everybody has talent. There are no weak sisters."
That's true of the MPSF, which has dominated college volleyball for more than three decades. MPSF members have won 31 of the 32 NCAA championships. (San Diego State, which won in 1973, dropped its program two years ago.)
UCLA, which has won 18 national titles, is the best team in the best league.
"Once upon a time in major league baseball, there were only about eight teams," Brigham Young coach Carl McGown said. "Every team was good, but the Yankees were the Yankees. UCLA, of course, is the Yankees. They get virtually every recruit they want. To beat the Bruins, you have to be special."
Preston said UCLA "is like Duke in basketball and Miami in football. They can go out and tell a recruit, 'Play for us and you'll win at least one national championship in four years here.' Kids will turn away scholarships to get a chance to do that."
Here's a look at the MPSF teams:
BRIGHAM YOUNG COUGARS
Record: 5-1, 5-1 MPSF
Head coach: Carl McGown
Player to watch: Setter Carlos Moreno, who arrived on campus Jan. 11, is the son of a four-time Olympian from Brazil. He should be ready for the stretch drive.
Quick hit: The Cougars lost three middles from last year, but received a boost when Rafael Paal, the NAIA tournament MVP, transferred from Cal Baptist, and Chris Gorny, who was used sparingly last year, quickly developed. Gorny, a sophomore, has a 41-inch vertical leap. Moreno proved to be a timely replacement for setter Angel Perez, who left the team in December.
Hawai'i tie: Libero Mike Wilton is the son of you-know-who.
Fun fact: Libero Shawn Olmstead's father, Richard, who attended BYU-Hawai'i, played on the pro beach volleyball tour.
HAWAI'I WARRIORS
Record: 3-2, 0-0 MPSF
Head coach: Mike Wilton
Player to watch: With outside hitter Tony Ching unavailable for another month because of a shoulder injury, freshman Jose Delgado becomes a full-time starter.
Quick hit: The Warriors were optimistic there was more depth this season. But Ching's injury and erratic play from some of the starters have left Wilton with little wiggle room. Outside hitter Ryan Woodward, who was not expected to play much this season, was added to the current travel roster.
Fun fact: Outside hitter Costas Theocharidis, who believes he has an allergic reaction to sandwiches made at fast-food places, goes to Subway only to buy cookies.
UC IRVINE ANTEATERS
Record: 3-4, 1-3 MPSF
Head coach: Charlie Brande
Player to watch: David Kniffin, a junior college transfer, won the job as the starting setter. Kniffin is athletic but, Brande cautioned, "it's a huge step from junior college."
Quick hit: Four years ago, Brande, a former UH assistant, inherited a 4-19 team. Last year, the Anteaters beat UCLA, Long Beach State and Hawai'i en route to qualifying for the playoffs. Brande relies on area talent — 17 of the 22 Anteaters are from Orange County or San Diego — and the detailed preparation learned from his mentor, UH Wahine coach Dave Shoji.
Hawai'i tie: Middle blocker Brenden Watumull and opposite hitter Wade Ichinose are Punahou School graduates; setter Kaipo Kealalio is a Kapa'a High graduate.
Fun fact: A car rental company was the title sponsor of the team's postseason banquet.
LONG BEACH STATE 49ERS
Record: 3-6, 1-2 MPSF
Head coach: Alan Knipe
Player to watch: Outside hitter Scott Touzinsky, the MPSF's co-Freshman of the Year in 2001, developed his game as a member of last summer's Junior National team.
Quick hit: The tide has changed for the Beach, which lost seven players from a team that won the division title. "We're still trying out different guys at different spots," said Knipe, who has used four different rotations. Outside hitters Touzinsky, Matt Meine and Jeff Wootton have provided the only oomph.
Hawai'i tie: Middle blocker Yassir Sliti of London committed to UH last May, but the Warriors rescinded the offer because of undisclosed problems.
Fun fact: The Pyramid, the 49ers' home arena, is built with 18,000 steel tubes. If the tubes were placed end to end, they would span 26 miles.
CS NORTHRIDGE MATADORS
Record: 4-3, 1-2 MPSF
Head coach: Jeff Campbell
Player to watch: Outside hitter J.P. Jandreau is back. He was second on the team in kills two years ago, but redshirted last year to recover from a shoulder injury.
Quick hit: The offense has picked up the tempo with setter Ty Tramblie taking over. Freshman Nils Nielsen, who redshirted last season, is an athletic outside hitter who will ease 6-10 Walter Eckhard's workload.
Fun fact: Last summer, Eckhard married Laura Szymanski, the career kill leader for the Matadors' women's team.
PACIFIC TIGERS
Record: 2-5, 1-4 MPSF
Head coach: Joe Wortmann
Player to watch: Freshman Mike Gawlik, a natural setter, is a quick defensive player who will be used at libero this year. "He knows how to take command," Wortmann said. "Even though he's a freshman, he has no problems taking charge and, if necessary, pushing people out of the way."
Quick hit: Although the Tigers have five returning starters, their lineup was not whole until last week because of outside hitter Martin Bernsten's visa problems in Sweden and "a little Tom Foolery" resulting in the suspension of four players. The Tigers played well in two four-game losses at BYU (they were either tied or ahead at 27 in seven of the eighth games), and middle blocker Dan Hoefer has taken some of the offensive load off of middle blocker Sean Rodgers.
Hawai'i ties: The Tigers have more Kamehameha graduates (outside hitters Jon-Paul Keb and Bryson Metz and libero Vaughn Lorenzo) than UH (one). Opposite hitter Adam Catania attended Mililani High and Leeward Community College.
Fun fact: Keb had perfect attendance in four years at Kamehameha.
PEPPERDINE WAVES
Record: 8-2, 3-0 MPSF
Head coach: Marv Dunphy
Player to watch: When healthy — and he is at about 65 percent following shoulder surgery — Pono Kahale is one of the league's hardest hitters.
Quick hit: The secret to the Waves' success is no secret at all. "We're not very complex," Dunphy said. "We train hard and we try to keep things simple." Setter Beau Daniels has done a good job orchestrating the offense and Brad Keenan has been an effective middle blocker. The Waves will be even better when Kahale is at full strength. "He's probably our best all-around player," Dunphy said. "He can flat-out play the game. When he hits a ball, everybody in the gym feels it."
Hawai'i tie: Kahale is a Kamehameha Schools graduate, and Arist de Wolff, who is expected to redshirt, is from St. Louis School.
Fun fact: The day before every home match, the players will see how many times they can race up and down a nearby sand dune in 30 minutes.
UC SAN DIEGO TRITONS
Record: 0-5, 0-4 MPSF
Head coach: Ron Larsen
Player to watch: Setter Jordan Hove has been a good quarterback on a struggling team.
Quick hit: The Tritons, who had problems last season, have yet to find adequate replacements for departed opposite Donald Chen and outside hitter Zack Hite. Middle blockers Eric Perrine and Shawn Oksenendler have played well this season, but at 6-3 and 6-2, respectively, are undersized for their positions.
Fun fact: Despite not offering volleyball scholarships, the Tritons have two players from Illinois. "If you're from Chicago and you come to La Jolla, you think you're in paradise," Larsen said.
UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS
Record: 5-2, 2-2 MPSF
Head coach: Ken Preston
Player to watch: Opposite hitter Ben Koski still is the Gauchos' top gun.
Quick hit: "We're basically the same team as last year," Preston said. "The good news is we're one year older. The bad news is we didn't make the playoffs (last year)." Britt Galang is back as the starting setter. He started in 2000, but lost the job to Jeff Minc, who was perceived to be stronger and quicker. "Britt came back in shape this year, and he's been a much steadier influence."
Hawai'i tie: Middle blocker Dan Terry was born in Honolulu.
Fun fact: Middle blocker Anders Bengtsson's favorite food is moose.
SOUTHERN CAL TROJANS
Record: 4-5, 1-2 MPSF
Head coach: Pat Powers
Player to watch: Freshman Phil Small has played well at middle blocker. At 6 feet 11, Small is the tallest player in the program's history.
Quick hit: Brook Billings, an All-America opposite hitter two years ago, moved to outside hitter to utilize his passing skills. That allowed Beau Rawl, a three-year starter in the middle, to move to opposite. With a young squad — Billings, Rawl and libero Greg Burden are the only seniors — Powers is looking to just qualify for the playoffs.
Hawai'i tie: Josh Day was named to the 1999 Volleyball Fab 50 team as a Kamehameha Schools senior.
Fun fact: Billings once burst a volleyball on a spike.
STANFORD CARDINAL
Record: 4-1, 3-1 MPSF
Head coach: Don Shaw
Player to watch: Setter Kevin Hansen, a 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman, provides the Cardinal with an imposing block.
Quick hit: Stanford probably has the league's thinnest playbook. The strategy is to find outside hitter Curt Toppel, who receives about a third of the Cardinal's sets. Outside hitter Marcus Skacel and middle blocker Paul Bocage get the leftovers. An intriguing player is 6-9 outside hitter Billy Strickland, who has a punishing swing but limited mobility.
Hawai'i tie: Libero/setter Doug Johnstone attended Punahou School. Outside hitter Seth Ring is the younger brother of former UH player Jason Ring.
Fun fact: Outside hitter William Curtis is a drummer in a jazz band.
UCLA BRUINS
Record: 7-1, 2-0 MPSF
Head coach: Al Scates
Player to watch: Quick hitter Chris Pena has emerged as the leader, calling out hitting assignments and aggressively attacking from the middle.
Quick hit: The good times keep rolling for the country's best program, with Jonathan Acosta, MVP of the Outrigger Invitational, stepping up as the top outside hitter. Acosta has rebounded from an abdominal injury, for which he received a medical hardship last season. The Bruins will be even better once middle blocker Scott Morrow, who has torn ligaments in his left hand, is healthy.
Hawai'i tie: Outside hitter Brennan Prahler is a Punahou graduate.
Fun fact: Scates already is a member of the Volleyball Hall of Fame.
