NCAA VOLLEYBALL: WEST IS SEMI-FAVORED UCLA, BYU HAVE HISTORY ON THEIR SIDE.Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer LONG BEACH - Maybe the teams don't want to jinx jinx n. 1. A person or thing that is believed to bring bad luck. 2. A condition or period of bad luck that appears to have been caused by a specific person or thing. tr.v. themselves. Maybe they don't want to come off too cocky. For whatever reason, neither UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX or BYU BYU Brigham Young University BYU Bayou BYU Bob's Your Uncle BYU Bayreuth, Germany - Bindlacher Berg (Airport Code) BYU Beyond Your Understanding announced they would win their semifinal matches today at the Pyramid, although both teams expect victories. In today's lopsided semifinals, it will take huge upsets from either Ohio State or Penn State to advance. That's just how the NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four in men's volleyball works. It's no secret. The teams from the West dominate - usually. For example, the Bruins are in their 23rd NCAA Tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
``The only thing I've been concerned with is our own game,'' UCLA coach Al Scates said. ``I'm not concerned about our opponent.'' Scates and his team hadn't even glanced at a videotape of OSU (Open Source UNIX) Refers to the Unix variants that are maintained as open source, which were primarily BSD Unix and Linux until Sun made its Solaris operating system open source in 2005. as of Wednesday morning. Regardless, UCLA outside hitter Mark Williams stressed the importance of not looking past the Buckeyes. But make no mistake, Williams and the Bruins would be shocked if they didn't win as expected. Last year, things weren't as clear cut. OSU and UCLA met in the NCAA championship, which the Bruins won with a sweep. By beating Pepperdine in last season's semifinals, the Buckeyes proved they were one of the nation's top teams. This season, though, they are young, as they lost four starting seniors from last year's squad. ``I think we appreciate things more this year,'' OSU middle blocker Todd Hill said. The No. 4 Buckeyes face an extremely balanced No. 1 UCLA. The Bruins have a cast of players from which anyone could lead the team in kills, and they're all big. Williams, Adam Naeve, Scott Morrow, Cameron Mount and Matt Komer all start and all are listed at 6-foot-7 or taller. ``Maybe that's easier, that you don't have to focus on one guy,'' OSU coach Pete Hanson said. ``You got to focus on all of them. We'll defend the middle first, then get to the outside hitters.'' Although the West typically is dominant, that's not always been the case. Penn State won the national championship in 1994. On paper, the match between No. 3 Penn State and No. 2 BYU looks closer than the UCLA-OSU contest. Penn State is the underdog but probably not as big of one as OSU, which wasn't the top seed in its Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association The Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) is a collegiate club men's volleyball sports league in the Midwest United States. It is differentiated from the varsity Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (also called "MIVA"). Tournament. No. 1 UCLA Record: 23-7 Playoffs: Mountain Pacific Sports Federation The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation is a college athletic conference whose member teams are located in the western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I. champion Coach: Al Scates, 39th season Key players: Adam Naeve, 6-10, Sr., MB; Mark Williams, 6-7, Sr., OH; Scott Morrow, 6-9, So., MB; Rich Nelson, 6-4, So., S; Matt Komer, 6-7, Jr., OH, Cameron Mount, 6-8, So., OH; Adam Shrader, 6-3, Fr., libero Libero can refer to:
Bruin keys: They are a big team, with five players listed taller than 6- foot-6. They will have a good chance to repeat as NCAA champion if they limit their hitting errors. They've shown they can respond well to pressure, having defeated Long Beach State in a fifth game and Stanford in the MPSF MPSF Mountain Pacific Sports Federation first round after facing three match points. No. 2 BYU Record: 21-4 Playoffs: MPSF semifinals (lost to Hawaii, 3-1) Coach: Carl McGown, 12th season Key players: Mike Wall, 6-4, Jr., OP; Hector Lebron, 6-2, Sr., S; Matt Olsen, 6-6, Sr., MB; Joaquin Acosta, 6-5, Jr., OH; Scott Bunker, 6-5, Sr., MB; Mac Wilson, 6-9, Sr., MB; Fernando Pessoa, 6-4, Fr., libero Cougar cougar: see puma. cougar or puma or mountain lion or panther Species (Puma concolor) of large, graceful cat that lives in a wide variety of habitats in the Americas, from southern Alaska to Patagonia. keys: The Cougars, who received an at-large bid into the Final Four, are consistent and limit their hitting errors. They led the nation in hitting (.378) and were ranked No. 1 for seven weeks. No. 3 PENN STATE Record: 24-7 Playoffs: Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association The Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) is a college athletic conference whose member schools compete in men's volleyball. Its member institutions are located in the Northeast United States. champion Coach: Mark Pavlik, seventh season Key players: Jose Quinones, 6-3, Jr., S; Ricky Mattei, 5-11, Fr., L; John Mills, 6-9, Jr., MB; Carlos Guerra, 6-5, So., OH; Zeljko Koljesar, 6-5, So., OP; Kevin Hodge, 6-4, So., OH; Zach Slenker, 6-5, So., MB Nittany Lion keys: Quinones was the EIVA Player of the Year and leads a relatively balanced offense. While they are big underdogs, the Nittany Lions have faced MPSF competition this season. They lost to Hawaii, UCLA, Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara but beat Long Beach State. No. 4 OHIO STATE Record: 21-6 Playoffs: Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association The MIVA (Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) is a college athletic conference whose member schools compete in men's volleyball. Its member institutions are located in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Iowa in the west to Pennsylvania in the east. champion Coach: Pete Hanson, 17th season Key players: Chris Fash, 6-3, Sr., OH; Todd Hill, 6-7, Sr., MB; Pieter Olree, 6-6, Jr., OH; Mark Peckham, 6-5, Fr., S; Greg Lehman, 6-2, So., OH; Adam Pedersen, 6-7, Fr., MB; Tom Trantow, 6-6, So., libero Buckeye keys: The Buckeyes come in as an enormous underdog against UCLA and are 0-13 against the Bruins all-time. Plus, the Buckeyes have lost key players from graduation last season. -Joe Stevens CAPTION(S): 4 boxes Box: (1) No. 1 UCLA (see text) (2) No. 2 BYU (see text) (3) No. 3 PENN STATE (see text) (4) No. 3 PENN STATE (see text) |
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