Published Friday, May 4, 2007 12:46 AM PDT
Sports
UCI rolls on to final
VOLLEYBALL: Anteaters avenge last year's NCAA semifinal defeat by Penn State, will meet IPFW Saturday for title.
By Barry Faulkner
COLUMBUS, Ohio — After accomplishing yet another first for a program that seems to break records and precedent with methodical frequency, the UC Irvine men's volleyball team can stop worrying about demons and now simply focus on Mastodons.
The No. 2-seeded Anteaters (28-5) exorcised two demons with one match Thursday, trouncing No. 3-seeded Penn State, 30-25, 30-22, 25-30, 30-23, in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship at Ohio State's St. John Arena.
The victory avenged the Nittany Lions' five-game semifinal win over then-No. 1-seeded UCI, in last year's NCAA semifinals at Penn State. It also propelled Coach John Speraw's senior-led squad into the program's first championship match.
The Anteaters, who have won more matches than any other in the 18-season history of the program, will try to attain their final goal Saturday, when they face Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne (23-7) in the title match at 4 p.m. at the same venue. The game will be televised by ESPN2.
IPFW, the No. 4 seed, stunned top-seeded Pepperdine, 27-30, 30-27, 30-27, 30-25, in the first semifinal to earn the school's first trip to a final in six Final Four appearances.
So, either the Mastodons or the Anteaters will make history Saturday night.
The Anteaters rewrote history Thursday, utilizing their experience and cohesiveness to overpower a younger, more excitable unit from Penn State (22-8).
"I thought we served better tonight," said UCI senior second-team All-American outside hitter Jayson Jablonsky, whose team made just 16 service errors to Penn State's 21. UCI had made 32 and 30, respectively, in its last two victories against BYU and Pepperdine in the MPSF tournament.
"I stopped talking about it," Speraw said of the serving woes. "I just decided that we're going to miss a bunch of serves, because it's too late in the season to change anything now."
Penn State added to its serving woes by making 29 attack errors, to UCI's 22. The Nittany Lions hit .230 as a team, while UCI finished with a .313 hitting percentage.
UCI was led, offensively, by senior opposite Matt Webber, another second-team All-American who had a match-high 19 kills, while adding two ace serves, five digs two total blocks.
Jablonsky had 14 kills and two aces.
The consistency of Webber and Jablonsky, the precision setting of senior second-team All-American Brian Thornton (51 assists to add to his school career record), and the reliable hitting of middle blockers David Smith, a senior first-team All-American, and junior Aaron Harrell has helped make UCI a difficult team to beat in the postseason.
The continued emergence of sophomore outside hitter Taylor Wilson, as well as the unsung contribution of sophomore libero Brent Asuka, has also combined to narrow the Anteaters' weaknesses.
Smith (11 kills) hit .625, while Wilson added 10 kills and four block assists. Harrell finished with four kills in eight attempts and hit .375.
It's all part of the plan, Speraw said.
"I've become a huge system volleyball coach," said the fifth-year head man, who has won more matches (98) than the program did in 13 seasons before his arrival (92). "We tell our guys this is the situation we're going to encounter and this is how we're going to deal with it. We tell them what their responsibilities are going to be and we just talk about it all the time. We train for it. Everyone understands what their responsibilities are and we're able to work well together because of it.
"Also, we work very hard and we have team chemistry."
The Anteaters' systematic approach served them best when the games reached the most critical stages.
UCI was up, 16-8, in Game 1, but Penn State closed to within 20-18 and eventually tied it at 24-24. But the Anteaters scored three straight and six of the last seven to close out the game.
With Penn State within 16-15 in Game 2, UCI scored five straight and eventually won by eight.
Penn State won six of the final seven points to take Game 3, but UCI established control early in Game 4 on its way to a 24-17 advantage.
Penn State closed to within 24-21, but UCI scored three in a row and was never seriously challenged again.
"Teams that are successful are able to make plays late in games," Speraw said. "I think the game scores were a little deceptive, because I thought the games were closer than that. But we were able to make a couple more plays after the score hit 20."
Penn State Coach Mark Pavlik said his team made too many mistakes.
"We really wanted to turn this match into a slugfest. And for stretches, it was some pretty good volleyball for both sides. Other times, it was the type of volleyball you don't want on any instructional videos. I think we made [50 errors, serving and hitting], but I give UCI credit."
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BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.
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