Anteaters don't turn deaf ear

From the Daily Pilot. For the original story please visit:
http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2007/02/06/sports/dpt-colleges06.txt

Published Monday, February 5, 2007 11:45 PM PST
Sports
COLLEGES:
Anteaters don't turn deaf ear
By BARRY FAULKNER

UC Irvine men's volleyball coach John Speraw can find motivation in unusual places.

After Speraw's No. 2-ranked Anteaters handed top-ranked BYU its first loss of the season in a thrilling five-game match before an overflow crowd of 5,600 at Smith Fieldhouse, Speraw said it was the Cougars' public address announcer that really got his team going.

"Every time the announcer said Anteaters, he had a little sneer in his voice," said Speraw, who wasted little time passing along his observation to his players.

"I just think there's still a number of people, fans, who don't know who we are as a program. They know UCLA and they know USC, and we're still introducing them to Irvine volleyball; to what UC Irvine can do in the athletic arena."

Speraw's team, which was routed by BYU Friday, made another step toward spreading the UCI banner across a broader spectrum Saturday.

It's an ongoing struggle, said junior middle blocker Aaron Herrell.

"I think we had a lot to prove last year, coming off a 9-20 season," said Harrell, who helped the 2006 'Eaters post a 27-5 record, including the program's first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season title, and a berth in the Final Four.

"But a lot of people thought it was a fluke that we did so well [ranked No. 1 for nine straight weeks and finishing No. 3 in the final poll]. So I think we had even more to prove this year."

The Anteaters proved many things Saturday, ending BYU's 11-match home winning streak and earning UCI's first win in Provo since 1991.

They proved they were mentally tough enough to handle close to 6,000 fans roaring loudly against them.

They proved they are still a force on the national volleyball scene, which was ratified by being ranked No. 2 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Assn. poll that came out Monday.

BYU remained No. 1 with 11 first-place votes, followed by UCI (three first-place votes), Pepperdine (two votes) and UC Santa Barbara.

They proved the big, bad Cougars, with four starters between 6-foot-8 and 6-6 and boasting a team most believe is the most athletically gifted team in the nation, can be beaten, even at what Speraw calls the toughest venue in America for visitors.

And, they proved the announcer should always mind his inflection.

Another Anteater who continues to prove he is among the best in the country is senior middle blocker David Smith.

Though Jayson Jablonsky, Matt Webber, Brian Thornton and Brent Asuka earned All-American honors last season, it has been Smith who has consistently been the Anteaters' strongest player this season.

The 6-foot-7 standout has 111 kills this season (third on the team) with only 14 attack errors. He is hitting a team-best .539 and leads the squad with 58 total blocks, with only one blocking error.

As monumental as the UCI win Saturday may have been, Speraw said it still ranked behind the Anteaters' win at Stanford during his first season in 2003 as his best road win.

Orange Coast College women's basketball coach Mike Thornton was in Provo Saturday to watch his son Brian collect 58 assists.

Thornton missed Friday's UCI volleyball match because he was guiding the Pirates to a crucial 74-59 Orange Empire Confrence victory over Fullerton at OCC.

The win over the second-place Hornets allows the Pirates (23-3, 10-0 in conference) to move within one win of clinching at least a share of a conference championship, with four conference games remaining.

Thornton passed along this stat: OCC has made 62 of its last 67 free throws, an astounding 92.5%.