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BYU volleyball ready clash with No. 2 UC-Irvine |
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JaredLloyd | Friday, February 2, 2007, 8:14 am
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Darnell Dickson
Daily Herald
BYU co-head men’s volleyball coach Ryan Millar said both the top-ranked Cougars and No. 2 UC Irvine are teams “on a mission.”
Of course, in Provo, that means something else entirely: Nine of the 17 players listed on BYU’s numerical roster have served two-year missions for the LDS Church.
But if being on a mission means commitment, focus and striving to reach the ultimate goal, that certainly applies this weekend as BYU and UC Irvine meet in the Smith Fieldhouse.
BYU, which last won an NCAA title in 2004, hasn’t been very happy with its past two seasons of finishing out in the first round of the MPSF tournament.
“The guys have taken the last couple of years personally,” Millar said. “They’re tired of being mediocre. We’re dominating teams like we should. We’re making big plays when it counts and that’s a sign of a champion. The players are understanding how good they can be.”
UC Irvine dominated the regular season in 2006 and won all the major individual awards. But its dream of winning the school’s first-ever NCAA title were shattered in a loss to Penn State in the Final Four.
Returning for 2006 National Coach of the Year John Speraw is National Player of the Year Jason Jablonsky (6-5 Sr.) and second team All-Americans Brian Thornton (6-3 Sr.) and Matt Webber (6-7 Sr.). Last season the Anteaters finished 27-5 overall and won the MPSF regular-season title with a 20-2 record..
Jablonsky is averaging 4.58 kills per game in 2007 and Webber is right behind him at 4.47. Both are power servers who can fire off an ace at any time. Thornton leads the nation in assists with 14.90 per game.
UC Irvine was ranked No. 1 from the start and rolling along at 9-0 until getting swept by No. 4 Pepperdine last week.
“Almost all their guys are back this year,” Millar said. “They’re hungry. The kind of feel like they didn’t get it done last year. They had a setback against Pepperdine and it’s always hard to play a good team after a loss.
“They’re a little like a two-headed beast. Their opposite (Webber) and their outside hitter (Jablonsky) take all the big swings. You just try to slow those guys down.”
UC Irvine’s loss to Pepperdine allowed undefeated BYU to step into the No. 1 spot in this week’s AVCA and Volleyball Magazine polls.
“We didn’t even talk about it,” Millar said of the move to No. 1. “It’s nice to be respected by other coaches but all it means is that we’re playing well right now. We want to be playing well in May in Columbus in the Final Four.”
BYU has been the most dominant team in the nation in 2007, winning 24 of 25 games in compiling an 8-0 record. The offense comes from all over with five players averaging better than two kills per game, led by freshman Robby Stowell (3.84).
“Last week (at the Outrigger Invitational in Hawaii) we played fantastic,” Millar said. “The guys really showed up and sent a message to other teams that hadn’t seen us yet.”
In 2006, BYU was ranked No. 1 and UC Irvine No. 2 when the two teams met in California. The Anteaters won both matches by 3-2 scores.
This season, a capacity crowd is expected at the Smith Fieldhouse, which hosted almost 11,000 fans for two matches against UCLA last month.
“It’s hard to not come ready to play in the Fieldhouse when it’s packed,” Millar said.
At the net: Over half of BYU's starting line up was recognized for their efforts last weekend by being named to the Outrigger Hotels Invitational's All-Tournament team. Russell Holmes, who was also named AVCA National Player of the Week, was selected the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Also recognized were Stowell, outside hitter Yosleyder Cala and setter Yamil Perez. BYU was 2-0 in the tournament, sweeping both No. 9 Penn State and No. 13 Loyola-Chicago.
Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at
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