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Thursday, January 30, 1997

M. VOLLEYBALL:

Bruins hit .469, shut down top CSUN hitters in victoryBy Vytas Mazeika

Daily Bruin Contributor

If it begins like a massacre, if it looks like a massacre, and if it ends like a massacre, then it is a massacre.

The UCLA men's volleyball team mopped the floor with Cal State Northridge (CSUN). The match ended in three quick sets, 15-0, 15-6, 15-4 and lasted only one hour and 10 minutes.

The Bruins (2-1, 1-0 MPSF) hit an amazing .682 in the first-game shutout and never looked back. The Matadors (4-2, 2-2) never recovered from that demoralizing start.

"That first game was a joke," CSUN coach John Price said. "We couldn't even serve the ball over."

CSUN never got into a groove and by the end they were so embarrassed that players began pointing fingers at each other.

The Bruins, on the other hand, had a much more positive spin on the match and its surprising outcome.

"It is fun to win," UCLA head coach Al Scates said. "They were enjoying themselves because they were playing well."

"It has a lot to do with having fun out there," senior swing hitter Trong Nguyen said. "Having fun seems to be the key to clicking and playing really well."

Hitting a blistering .469 in the match, UCLA could do no wrong. During the second game, when the Matadors threatened the Bruins, true-freshman setter Brandon Taliaferro led UCLA on a 13-4 run to win the second game and regain momentum.

Taliaferro was in charge of a balanced attack that saw three hitters hit over .500 (Taliaferro .600, Adam Naeve .667, Tom Stillwell .636, Paul Nihipali .519).

"Taliaferro is our quarterback," Scates said. "He sets whoever he wants to. The key is that our hitters are making themselves available to Brandon."

Taliaferro's and Nguyen's intensity provided the team with a spark. UCLA was hitting on all cylinders as they had an excellent digging performance from Fred Robins and a dominating blocking night.

The Bruins shut down CSUN's big hitters Chad Strickland (.150) and Collin Smith (.094). The Matadors hit a meagre .113, and by the end of the match the players seemed to have lost interest

"We gave up out there," Price said. "That's a bigger problem than losing Nothing positive came out of this. It's beyond bad.

"Have fun guys. Rip away. It won't bother me at all."

UCLA Sports Info

Brandon Taliaferro