Sports Newsmaker of 2006: Speraw the Coach/Scientist

From The Daily Pilot, December 31, 2006, for the orginal story please visit:
http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2006/12/31/sports/dpt-speraw31.txt

Published Sunday, December 31, 2006 1:12 AM PST

Sports
SPORTS NEWSMAKER OF 2006:Speraw the coach/scientist

VOLLEYBALL: Coach's passion for excellence helps 'Eaters become NCAA title contenders.
By Barry Faulkner

With decreasing frequency, John Speraw steals the last 30 minutes of daylight to buzz to the beach and capture photographic images of the sunset.

But it is sunrise that is ultimately more inspirational for the UC Irvine men's volleyball coach, who relishes the daily possibility of at least 16 waking hours with which to methodically labor closer toward the pinnacle of his profession.

Speraw, who earned a bachelor's degree in microbiology and molecular genetics at UCLA, where he played middle blocker for two NCAA champions and added three more national title rings as an assistant under legendary coach Al Scates, might one day be the first coach to ever don a lab coat on the sideline.

One of his players called him a scientist who coaches volleyball and first-year assistant David Kniffin, who was a senior setter for the Anteaters during Speraw's first season at UCI, said Speraw's detailed game plans are both uniquely meticulous and singularly efficient.

In his debut season of 2003, Speraw guided the Anteaters to a then-school-record 20 wins and, for a brief time, the program's first No. 1 national ranking.

After consecutive 14-18 and 9-20 seasons, UCI was 27-5 last season, when it won 21 straight matches, was No. 1 in the nation for eight consecutive weeks, captured the school's first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season championship and made an unprecedented trip to the four-team NCAA Championships, where it lost a five-game semifinal to host Penn State. The Anteaters were ranked No. 2 in the final poll.

Speraw was named Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches' Assn. and four Anteaters received All-American honors, including National Player of the Year Jayson Jablonsky, a junior outside hitter, and national Newcomer of the Year Brent Asuka, a freshman libero.

But as monumental as last season was, it was, ultimately, a failure in the exacting eyes of Speraw, whose barren white office walls reveal both a lack of sentimentality (his five NCAA championship rings sit in a box in his garage and he does not know the whereabouts of last season's Final Four trophy) and an uncompromising focus on his relentless quest for excellence.

"I'm very organized in some ways," said Speraw, whose desk features a laptop situated to one side of almost a ream of papers strewn about in layers, as if a gust of wind facilitates his filing system. "I have some very detailed, written-out strategies and philosophies … a lot of people around here still talk about the five-year plan I wrote and brought in for my interview. I'm very interested in organization on a training level and a program level. I think a lot about our core philosophies as a program and how we're going to get better. But I don't care if there's stuff hanging up on my walls and I don't care that my desk is a mess. My house is at least a little better. I am a photographer, so I have some pictures hanging on my walls at home.

"People around here understand that if they tell me something, there's a good chance I'll forget it. That's because my mind is somewhere else. All I want to do is get in the gym and train and make this program great. I'm trying to maximize the ability of my athletes and I'm trying to create an environment that is the finest volleyball experience in America. I am completely focused on that.

"Kniffin is one who understands Speraw's focus.

"When he came here, he walked in with a little bit of the Bruin attitude," said Kniffin, who has played for a handful of coaches in three collegiate stops, as well as a two-year professional stint in Spain. "He said, 'We're here to win. I expect us to win and that's what we're going to do. I'd say he has a different style than any other coach I've seen. No question, his vision is what drives him."

Speraw, who co-authored a book titled "Exercise for Your Muscle Type: The Smart Way to Get Fit," said he spent much of his Christmas break reading books about teaching leadership.

He said he also regularly attends lectures on physiology and nutrition at the human performance lab on campus and his small office refrigerator is topped by a surprisingly diverse selection of nutrition bars.

He said his biggest concern upon leaving UCLA, and his mentor Scates, was how he was going to continue to learn and grow as a coach.

"But, very soon, I realized that was absolutely not a concern," Speraw said. "The last four years have been the most dynamic educational experience of my life. And I have no doubt that the next several years will continue to provide that for me. I think in another five years, I may have a good grasp on how to coach a volleyball team."

Self-deprecation aside, Speraw has earned renown for his progressive, innovative approach to shaping a program."

Speraw's intelligence, knowledge of the game and passion for the game are awesome to be around," said senior setter Brian Thornton, who was second-team All-American as a junior last year after leading the NCAA in assists per game (13.7).

Also a disciple of John Wooden, who coached UCLA to a record 10 NCAA titles in men's basketball before retiring in 1975, Speraw has formulated what he calls the four pillars of his program.

The four principles are: Personal responsibility; Effort; Treat each other as family; and Always have the utmost respect for our opponents."

A lot of companies have slogans and philosophies, but they are mostly just words on a banner that never really impact their employees," Speraw said. "I came to our four pillars as an idea, a concept of what we're about. We talk about those philosophies on a daily basis and, as a coaching staff (also including assistant Mark Presho), we make sure we execute on those philosophies every day in practice."

I've said our success last year was as much about philosophical development as it was increasing our talent or skill level."

Speraw's recruiting philosophies also set him apart.

Jablonsky was virtually unrecruited by other programs out of Esperanza High and the Anteaters plucked Matt Webber, a second-team All-American last season as a junior opposite hitter, from the virtual obscurity of a Bay Area suburb.

Speraw agreed to let Asuka, whose 3.03 digs per game last season ranked third in the nation, walk on, despite never having seen him play in person.

"I did see some videotape, but no one ever served to [Asuka], so it was hard to assess him as a passer," Speraw said.

Thornton was another find, having been scorned by other Division I programs out of San Clemente High."

I have a small team [the starters for which are seldom collectively taller than opposing lineups] and it seems like I keep recruiting guys who are small," Speraw said. "It's not that I choose to do so, it's just that I like athletes. I have a tendency to swing toward the real athletic guys, so maybe I look more at jumping ability and arm swing than I do size. I can walk through a gym and see the guys who interest me [as recruits]. And I usually figure out who those guys are in about 30 seconds. Every coach has something different he's looking for. Whereas another coach might think 'He's pretty small; I don't want him,' I'm watching his jumping ability and how he moves on the court."

Speraw's program, ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll for the upcoming season that begins Wednesday, will play nine matches at the 5,000-seat Bren Events Center this season. UCI played three matches at the Bren Center last year, including one in the MPSF Tournament. Crawford Court, the team's former primary home, holds fewer than 800 spectators.

"We had some big wins last year and I think we proved we weren't just a blip on the radar, but that we were legit," Speraw said. "And I think that started to generate a lot of interest. I believe we're starting to carry over some of that interest to this year and certainly being ranked as preseason No. 1 is helping.

"I think getting 3,000 and 4,000 fans a night is completely attainable. If we can do that, we'll provide the finest volleyball environment in Southern California, which combined with other factors, gives us a niche in recruiting. Once we have that, it will bring better players which makes us better and draws more fans, and the whole thing starts to snow ball. I think we've built the ball, but we still need to roll it down the hill."

Daily Pilot Top 10 Stories of the Year: UCI is on Top

(see the original story and photo at http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2006/12/31/sports/dpt-sptopten30.txt)

The top 10 Newport-Mesa sports stories of 2006, as selected by the Daily Pilot sports staff.

#1 - UC Irvine men's volleyball: The Anteaters, who won their first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season title, earned an at-large berth to the four-team NCAA Championships at Penn State. Playing in their first Final Four, UCI lost a semifinal match to Penn State to finish 27-5. The 'Eaters, who were ranked No. 1 in the nation at one point, finished No. 2 in the final national poll. Outside hitter Jayson Jablonsky was named National and MPSF Player of the Year. Speraw was selected National Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Assn.

AVCA Press Release

UCLA, Juniata Set to Defend Their Titles
by Rick Capone
Editor, Coaching Volleyball
(Original Release @ http://www.avca.org/collegiate/MenDIpoll/07preseasonprev.pdf)

When the dust settled on last year's championship matches, UCLA and Juniata emerged as the 2006 NCAA Champions. For the Bruins, it was their 19th Division I-II title, while for the Eagles, it was their third Division III title in a row and their fourth overall.

This year, UCLA Head Coach Al Scates will have his team aiming for its 20th title, while Juniata Head Coach Jeremy Price, who is entering his first season at the helm of the Eagles, will be trying to do something no other Division III team has done before -- win their fourth-consecutive title.

With the 2007 season about ready to get underway, here are just a few of the men's teams to watch this year. Please note that these are only a few teams "to watch" this season and are not based on any official ranking.

Division I-II
UCLA Bruins
The question coming into the 2007 season is – can the Bruins repeat as National Champions and win their 20th title?
The answer is – as long as Al Scates is coaching the team, the Bruins will always be in the championship picture. This is especially true after last season, when Scates did one of his masterful coaching jobs, pushing and challenging his team after a miserable 12-12 start. By the time it was all over, UCLA won 14 matches in a row, and defeated Penn State 3-0 in the championship game to take home their 19th title.

Coming into this season, UCLA loses a few top players, including outside hitter Damaien Scott, middle blockers Nick Scheftic and David Russell, and setter Dennis Gonzalez. However, they return some top talent in outside hitters, Steve Klosterman and Paul George, libero and team leader, Tony Ker, and setter, Matt Wade, who had a lot of key playing time last season in helping UCLA win nine in a row.

UCLA also boasts a host of newcomers, including outside hitters Kent Kraushaar and Teddy Goetz, middle blocker Garrett Muagututia, and two-redshirt outside hitters, Brett Perrine and Nate Bosza.

With a good mix of youth and experience, don't be surprised to see Scates and the Bruins holding up trophy number 20 in May at the NCAA Championships at the St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

UC Irvine
UC Irvine comes into the 2007 season looking to make up for last year's heartbreaking 2-3 loss to Penn State in the NCAA Championship semifinals. After taking over the # 1 ranking on March 13 and holding on to it for the rest of the 2006 season, the Anteaters were arguably the best team in the country last year. That is until they ran into the Nittany Lions in the tournament, who ended their championship dreams.

John Speraw, the 2006 Tachikara/AVCA Division I Men's National Coach of the YearSM, is entering his fifth year as UC Irvine's head coach and will have his team focused and ready to challenge for the top spot again.

While UC Irvine loses outside hitter, Steffin Rangel and Paul Spittle, who Speraw calls "the glue that provided us so much leadership (last year)," the Anteaters return most of their powerful 2006 squad.

At the top of the list of returners for UC Irvine is AVCA Division I-II Men’s National Player of the Year, outside hitter Jayson Jablonsky. Add to that AVCA Division I-II Second Team All Americans, opposite, Matt Webber and setter, Brian Thronton, and AVCA Division I-II First Team All-American and AVCA National Newcomer of the Year in libero, Brent Asuka, and the Anteaters have the makings of being one of the top teams to beat this year. The key, according to Speraw, will be finding team leadership.

"We might be OK," Speraw said in a recent email interview. "I am concerned about the loss of Paul Spittle. Looking at the stats, you would think he would be the easiest starter to replace off last year's team. But, he was the glue that provided us so much leadership. If we can get good leadership and continue to emphasize our team style of play, we could get back to the final four."

Penn State
After upsetting UC Irvine in the National Championship semifinals last season, the Nittany Lions dream season came to an end at the hands of the UCLA Bruins. However, Head Coach Mark Pavlik believes that with a lot of hard work, Penn State could go a long way again this year.

"We're going to be a completely different type of team than we were the last couple of years," Pavlik said. "… I think we're going to have to rely on some speed and put some different responsibilities on our setter, (Luke Murray). I think we've got three pretty good players in (Max) Holt, (Matt) Anderson and (Alex) Gutor in the mix that, offensively, should get some pretty good swings on the ball. We just have to look at our offense and say – how can we maximize our strengths. Early on in the season, we're going to be trying to search a little bit for our competitive personality, and we'll see who emerges as a leader. … I like where
we are right now. We've got a long way to go."

The Nittany Lions should be favored to come out of the east and represent the EIVA in the tournament. While they lose AVCA All-Americans, setter Dan O'Dell, and opposite Matt Proper, they return some top talent as well.

As Pavlik said, it will all start with setter Luke Murray and how he develops the offense with his hitters, middle hitter Holt, and outside hiiters, Gutor and Anderson. Libero Ryan Walthall will also need to contribute as well.

Three other teams to watch in Division I-II:
BYU returns AVCA Second-Team All-AmericanSM middle blocker Russell Holmes, third team All-MPSF outside hitter Yosleyder, and MPSF Honorable Mention setter, Ivan Perez. They have a solid core of players to build their team around.

Hawai'i returns AVCA First Team All Americans, setter Brian Beckwith and outside hitter Lauri Hakala, along with MSPF third-team middle blocker Dio Dante. While they lost some talented players, they should still be in the mix at the end of the season.

Ohio State lost AVCA Second Team All AmericanSM outside hitter Mark Greaves, but returns most of their top players from a year ago, including middle hitter Layne Dreven, libero Conor Martin, setter Daniel Mathews, and MIVA Freshman of the Year, middle hitter John Albertson. Look for Ohio State to make a run at the MIVA title and earn a trip to the NCAA championships.

2006-07 Eater Team

Here's the shot that was on the Athletics website at http://www.athletics.uci.edu!

Daily Pilot Article

Published Friday, December 22, 2006 12:24 AM PST
Sports
(original article at http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2006/12/22/sports/dpt-ucimenvb22.txt)

UCI is nation's top team

VOLLEYBALL: Coach John Speraw's UC Irvine men's team is the one with a target on its back.
The UC Irvine men's volleyball team is ranked No. 1 in the CSTV/AVCA Coaches Preseason Poll.UC Irvine topped the list with 234 points, garnering 11 first-place votes.

UCI finished the 2006 season as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season champion and advanced to the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship where the Anteaters lost to host Penn State in five games in a semifinal match.The 'Eaters return all but one starter from last year's team that went 27-5 and ended the year ranked No. 2 nationally. National and MPSF
Player of the Year Jayson Jablonsky returns to lead Coach John Speraw's veteran crew.

Jablonsky, an AVCA first-team All-American, averaged 4.17 kills per game last season which ranked 17th in the country. The 6-5 outside hitter earned NCAA All-Tournament team honors and was ranked 18th in points (4.89) and 11th in aces (.367) nationally a year ago.

All-Americans Brian Thornton, Matt Webber and Brent Asuka also return for UC Irvine. Thornton, a 6-3 senior setter, was named second team All-America as well as second-team All-MPSF. He averaged 13.70 set assists, which led the nation in 2006.

Webber topped the team, averaging 4.66 kills, which ranked eighth nationally and was ninth in the country in points per game (5.32). The 6-7 senior opposite was named second team All-America and second-team All-MPSF.

Asuka, a sophomore libero, was honored as the AVCA National and MPSF Newcomer of the Year, becoming the first libero to ever garner the distinction. He was also tabbed first team All-America and All-MPSF after averaging 3.03 digs per game.

Middle blockers David Smith and Aaron Harrell round out the UC Irvine returnees. Smith, a 6-7 senior, was named honorable mention in the MPSF last year. He averaged 2.19 kills per game and owned a .412 hitting percentage which ranked 16th nationally. Harrell, a third-team All-MPSF choice, led the team in hitting percentage at .463, which was fifth in the nation and bettered his own school record for hitting percentage in a season. The 6-5 junior led the team, averaging 1.30 blocks per game which was 12th nationally.

UCI will open the 2007 season at Cal Baptist Jan. 3 at 7:00 p.m. Following the UCSB Elephant Bar Tournament Jan. 5-6, the Anteaters will play host to Hawaii Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m.

UC Irvine OSU Test Nite #2

Ohio State’s Drops Second 3-1 decision to UC Irvine in Exhibition MatchStevens has 19.5 points and Klein, 15 for the Buckeyes.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s volleyball team lost a second, 3-1 (30-22, 30-26, 26-30, 30-23) decision to UC Irvine Sunday night in St. John Arena in an exhibition match. Ohio State’s Sam Stevens (5th/Sr., Miami, Fla.) scored a match-high 19.5 points for the Buckeyes with Robbie Klein (Jr./So., Cincinnati, Ohio) adding 15. Stevens had a match-high 18 kills, one ace serve and an assist block while Klein posted 12 kills, two ace serves and a solo block. UC Irvine’s Matt Webber scored a team-high 18 points with Jayson Jablonsky adding 17.5. Webber had a team-high 17 kills and two assist blocks while Jablonsky contributed 14 kills, two ace serves and three assist blocks. Tied at seven in game one, a kill from Stevens and a Brett Versen (Sr./Jr., Centerville, Ohio) ace serve gave Ohio State a 9-7 lead. An OSU error and a Jablonsky kill tied the game at nine. Three Buckeye errors opened a 12-9 Anteater lead. Trailing 17-13, Ohio State, with kills from Klein and Matthew Hankey (Sr./Jr., Naperville, Ill.) and a UC Irvine error cut the lead to one at 17-16. Anteater kills from Brandon Mel and David Smith and two OSU errors put UC Irvine ahead, 21-16. At 26-22, Anteaters, two kills from Webber and a Webber-Aaron Harrell block set game point at 29-22. An OSU error ended the game at 30-22.

UC Irvine hit .345 for the game to -.067 for Ohio State.After Ohio State opened game two with a Klein kill, two kills from Harrell, a Harrell-Taylor Wilson block and an OSU error gave UC Irvine a 4-1 lead. The Anteaters held the lead and at 27-23, two UC Irvine errors and an ace serve from Stevens cut the lead to one at 27-26. Kills from Webber and Jablonsky set game point at 29-26 and a Jablonsky ended the game at 30-26. The Anteaters hit .400 for the game to .296 for the Buckeyes.Ohio State trailed 3-2 in game three when a Layne Dreven (5th/Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) kill tied the game at three. A Buckeye block from Versen and Ben Spurlock (Jr./So., Stow, Ohio), kills from Stevens and Versen and an Anteater error gave OSU a 7-3 lead. At 8-4, UC Irvine scored six straight points to take a 10-8 lead. The run began with kills from Webber and Smith, two OSU errors and blocks by Jablonsky-Smith and Smith-Brian Thornton. At 12-10, a kill from Stevens and an Anteater error tied the game at 12. A Jablonsky kill made it 13-12, UC Irvine. A Dreven kill, a Dreven-Versen block and a UC Irvine error gave OSU a 15-13 lead. At 16-14, OSU, two OSU errors, a Smith kill and a Cole Reinholm ace serve opened an 18-16 Anteater lead. At 19-17, two kills from Stevens and a UC Irvine error gave OSU a 20-19 lead. A Buckeye error tied the game at 20. A Versen kill and an Anteater error gave Ohio State a 22-20 lead. At 24-22, a UC Irvine error, a Klein ace serve and a Stevens-Dreven-Versen block gave Ohio State a 27-22 lead. Two OSU errors cut the Buckeye lead to 27-24. At 29-26, a Spurlock kill ended the game at 30-26. Ohio State hit .121 for the game to .100 for UC Irvine.

UC Irvine broke a 3-3 tie in game four with a Smith kill and a Smith-Reinholm block for a 5-3 lead. Trailing 16-14, a Klein kill and an Anteater error tied the game at 16. Jablonsky, with a kill, gave UC Irvine a 17-16 lead. Kills from Klein and Dreven gave OSU an 18-17 lead. An OSU error tied the game at 18. Tied at 21, kills from Jablonsky and Reinholm gave UC Irvine a 23-21 lead. An Anteater error made it 23-22. UC Irvine scored the next six points starting with kills from Smith and Jablonsky. The run continued with a Reinholm ace serve, a Smith-Thornton block, an OSU error and a Jablonski kill to reach match point at 29-22. OSU stopped the first match point with a kill from Stevens. With a kill, Smith ended the game at 30-22, for a 3-1 victory in the match. The Anteaters hit .500 for the match to .344 for Ohio State.For the match, UC Irvine hit .330 to .172 for Ohio State. The Anteaters had a 56-53 advantage in kills while Ohio State had a seven-to-five margin in ace serves. The Buckeyes gave up 19 service errors to 18 for UC Irvine. Defensively, the Anteaters had a 32-27 edge in digs with UC Irvine’s Thornton and Brent Asuka and OSU Conor Martin (Jr., Avon Lake, Ohio) sharing match-high honors with seven each. At the net, the Anteaters had a nine to 6.5 advantage in team blocks. Smith for UC Irvine and Versen for the Buckeyes shared match-high honors with four assist blocks each. OSU setter Daniel Mathews (Jr., Shorewood, Wis.) and UC Irvine’s Thornton each collected 46 assists in the match.

"Test" Irvine Squad Dominates Buckeyes in Scrimmage, Night 1

Ohio State's Drops 3-1 decision to UC Irvine in Exhibition Match
Meske has 17.5 points and Klein, 15 for the Buckeyes
Dan Meske had a match-high 17.5 points in the 3-1 exhibition loss to UC Irvine

Dec. 16, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State men's volleyball team fell, 3-1 (30-24, 30-21, 28-30, 30-23) to UC Irvine Saturday night in St. John Arena in an exhibition match. OSU's Dan Meske (Sr., Willow Springs, Ill.) had a match-high 17.5 points with Robbie Klein (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio) adding 15 for the Buckeyes while Cole Reinholm had a team-high 12.5 for UC Irvine with Taylor Wilson adding 11. Meske had a match-high 15 kills, adding an ace serve and three assist blocks. Klein contributed 14 kills and two assist blocks. Reinholm had 11 kills, an ace serve and an assist block for the Anteaters with Wilson adding nine kills an ace serve and two assist blocks.

In game one, Ohio State held an 18-14 lead when UC Irvine went on a nine-one run to take a 23-19 lead. The Anteaters held the lead and at 27-24, two kills by David Smith set game point at 29-24 and a Jayson Jablonsky kill ended the game at 30-24. UC Irvine hit .195 for the game to .138 for Ohio State.
UC Irvine opened game two with a 3-0 lead. The Anteaters expanded the lead to 19-9 before a six-one Ohio State run cut the lead to 20-15. The Buckeye run included a Meske-Layne Dreven (Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) block, kills from Meske, Sam Stevens (Sr., Miami, Fla.) and Klein and two UC Irvine errors. At 24-18, two Anteater errors cut the lead to four at 24-20. A four-one Anteater run took the score to 28-21. Two Ohio State errors ended the game at 30-21. UC Irvine hit .320 for the game to .074 for the Buckeyes.

Two UC Irvine errors broke an 8-8 tie to give the Buckeyes a 10-8 lead. Trailing 14-12, UC Irvine tied the game at 14 with a Wilson kill and a Ryan Ammerman solo block. An OSU error gave the Anteaters a 15-14 lead. Tied at 18, A UC Irvine error and a Meske kill put OSU ahead, 20-18. A Klein kill expanded the lead to three at 22-19. At 24-21, three OSU errors and a Wilson kill gave UC Irvine a 25-24 lead. An Anteater error tied the game at 25. Two kills from Klein and a UC Irvine error gave Ohio State a 28-25 lead. A Cole Reinholm kill and a Buckeye error cut the lead to 28-27, OSU. A Klein kill set game point for Ohio State at 29-27. An OSU error stopped the game point at 29-28. Ohio State won the game, 30-28, on an Anteater error to make the UC Irvine match lead, 2-1. Ohio State hit .111 for the game to .000 for UC Irvine.

Tied at four in game four, UC Irvine scored seven straight points to take an 11-4 lead. Ohio State responded with a six-point run including two kills from Dreven and Meske, one from Klein and an Anteater error. An OSU error and a Brandon Mel ace serve took the lead to 13-10, UC Irvine. The Anteaters opened a five-point lead, 17-12, with a five-one run including two kills from Reinholm, one from Brett Kohout and an OSU error. With UC Irvine leading 17-11, a Buckeye error and a Wilson ace serve set match point at 29-22. A Klein kill stopped the match point at 29-23. A Buckeye error ended the match with a 30-23 game win and a 3-1 match victory for the Anteaters. UC Irvine hit .333 for the game to .308 for Ohio State.

For the match, UC Irvine hit .191 to .153 for Ohio State. The Anteaters had a 57-42 advantage in kills and a five-to-three margin in ace serves. Ohio State gave up 25 service errors to 22 for UC Irvine. Defensively, the Anteaters had a 47-46 edge in digs with OSU's Conor Martin (Jr., Avon Lake, Ohio) recording a match-high 18. Anteater Brent Asuka had a team-high nine. At the net, Ohio State had a 13.5-to-10.5 advantage in team blocks. OSU's Dreven had a match-high seven assist blocks. Ohio State's Daniel Mathews (Jr., Shorewood, Wis.) had a match-high 38 assists while Brian Thornton had 27 and Ammerman, 25 for UC Irvine.
The squads return Sunday at 8 p.m. to play a second exhibition match in St. John Arena.

Eater Update

On Wednesday, I had a great opportunity to hit some of the 3-4 ft surf that was coming in off the 32nd St. Jetty in Newport Beach. Out in the water with me were red-shirt freshman from San Clemente, Cory Yoder, and Serving/Defensive Specialist, and yet another San Clemente stud, Brett Simpson. Not only are these guy great v-ballers, but they they can throw some water off of waves in a big kind of way! It was great to sit out in the water with Yoder and Simpson and they are 2 (of many) good guys on the v-ball team! Not to mention that they "shred" at surfing!

In any case, the 'Eaters leave for Ohio St. today for a couple of games against the Buckeyes this weekend. The first "test" of the season against Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) powerhouse will be a great challenge for the 'Eaters in that the Buckeyes are chosen to finish 2nd in the MIVA. The MIVA pre-season rankings look like this:

1. IPFW
2. Ohio State
3. Loyola (Chicago, IL)
4. Ball State.
5. Lewis
6. Quincy
7. Mercyhurst

Setter, Daniel Matthews leads the charge for the Buckeyes with middle, John Albertson, who were both chosen as pre-season conference selections for the MIVA. The fact of the matter is this. The MIVA is far inferior to any MPSF team and is not much of a threat-- but then again, anything can happen in D1 volleyball!

From my conversations with Yoder and Simpson practices have been highly competitive and the player are physically and mentall prepared for season-- even after Yoder's first finals at UCI! In any case, I'll keep you posted on the haps of Eater-Ball (if I can get them from OSU). If not I'll call my "connections" on the team!

Get your Zot on-- the 2007 season is looming!

Flipper

Buckeye State Bound

The 'Eaters are heading out to Ohio St. University to play the buckeyes in a weekend scrimmage. I wish I could be there but I've got to save my Frequent Flier Miles for other trips this year being that I plan on seeing the team quite a bit on the road. The team is looking alright even with the loss of Paul Spittle (the little OH that could)-- it's tough to replace a fiery competitor like that on the court. Considering J-Blo, Webber, Smith, Big Red, Thorny and the Soopa-Troopa-Brent-Asuka will be back on the court the next starting OH is going to have to mesh with the team chemistry. Who's it going to be? One of the fab 50 freshman that Coach Speraw picked up? Maybe he'll go with an upper classman in Mel. Maybe Speraw will go with the "youth movement" and go with the 6'7" Wilson. You've got Simpon serving up wiffle balls with his nasty float serves and cleaning up the back row when called upon as well as a bunch of guys that are pretty talented that want to see PT. I can't wait to see what the 'Eaters look like in '07!