Surprising Stanford
By Cindy Luis
seeded No. 1
Star-BulletinLOS ANGELES -- Stewart Chong knows all too well the fickle finger of the NCAA men's volleyball selection committee. When Chong was a freshman in 1994, the Stanford backup setter saw the the committee members point to IUPU-Ft. Wayne -- host of the NCAA championship tournament-- as their at-large choice over the No. 2-ranked Cardinal. That snub was part of Stanford's motivation Saturday night when stunning top-ranked UCLA, 15-11, 15-2, 15-10, in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament's championship match at Pauley Pavilion. By winning the MPSF's automatic berth in this week's final four, the Cardinal left nothing to chance or politics.
"My freshman year, we were denied the at-large berth and it was very frustrating because we felt it had a lot to do with finances," said Chong, a Kamehameha Schools graduate. "This time around, we wanted to make sure that we would be there.
"And to beat UCLA on their home court is huge. When we came down here in March, I considered that the biggest match of my career . . . and it wasn't even the playoffs. I had never beat them in my four years and I felt that was something I had to do before I graduated. We needed everyone to play well to do it (Saturday). And we'll need the same thing this week because I'm sure we'll see UCLA again."
If the Cardinal do, it will have to be in this Saturday's championship match at Columbus, Ohio. Yesterday, Stanford (25-3) was awarded the top seed in the final four and will face fourth-seeded Ball State (27-7), the Midwest representative, in Thursday's second semifinal.
In the opening semifinal, East champion Penn State (29-1) takes on two-time defending national champion UCLA (23-4). As anticipated, the Bruins were named the at-large representative yesterday, as well as the No. 3 seed.
Penn State has won 28 straight since losing to Hawaii Jan. 24, the second night of the Outrigger Hotels Invitational at the Special Events Arena. A night earlier, the Nittany Lions defeated UCLA, the first time the Bruins had ever lost their season opener.
UCLA has three days to regroup after their first loss in 11 matches this season in Pauley.
"Stanford played great and we came out flat," said Bruins' coach Al Scates, who lost to the Cardinal for the first time since 1993. "Our block was slow, our passing was off and (Paul) Nihipali was the only one playing well.
"Our coaches could see what Stanford was doing but we couldn't get the players to do what they needed to do to stop them."
Nihipali, who should pick up his third All-America plaque this week, was the only Bruin in double-kill figures Saturday with 14. UCLA hit a season-low .164 for the match, including .094 in the 22-minute debacle that was Game 2.
Mike Lambert had six of his match-high 19 kills and two of his three aces in Game 2. The Punahou product added 11 digs in helping Stanford hold the Bruins to their lowest point total of the season.
It is Stanford's third Final Four appearance, and first since losing to Pepperdine in the 1992 title match. UCLA, going for its 17th championship, has won three of the last four titles, losing to Penn State in 1994.
There were no leis for Stanford after Saturday's win. Lambert told his family he didn't want any for the team because there were two matches to go.
"It was a good win but at the same time, we're not there yet," said Lambert. "We haven't beaten UCLA since I was a freshman and to do it here is great. But we still have two matches left and then we can celebrate."
Cindy Luis is a Star-Bulletin sportswriter.
Her column appears weekly.
