VOLLEYBALL: BRUINS REMAIN ON TARGET FOR NO. 19 UCLA SWEEPS PENN STATE IN SEMIFINALS UCLA 3, PENN ST. 0.Byline: Rich Hammond Rich Hammond Los Angeles Daily News sports writer. Instrumental in bringing the Los Angeles Kings hockey organization closer to the fans. He is the atypical "what a guy" to Kings fans everywhere. Rich Hammond on himself. Staff Writer 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 coach Al Scates Al Scates (born 9 June 1939) is an American former volleyball player and is the current volleyball coach of the UCLA Bruins of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Scates, in his 44th year as the coach of the Bruins, is the winningest volleyball coach in the history of the NCAA, , one of the patriarchs of NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association men's volleyball, is in his 43rd year on the job, but clearly Scates doesn't think his knowledge of the sport is infallible. ``I announced the starting lineup For the line of action figures, see . A starting lineup in sports refers to the set of players actively participating in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes , and P.J. Johnson, who is not one of the more vocal players I've ever had, suggested I start Brennan Prahler,'' Scates said. ``It sounded like a good idea, so I did it. ... Brennan had been practicing well, and I usually go with the guys who are hitting well in practice.'' Scates has been coaching almost twice as long as Johnson has been alive, but the advice worked out well. Prahler, whose limited playing time also has been restricted by ankle injuries, totaled a match-high 17 kills as UCLA defeated Penn State in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
Third-seeded UCLA's 30-20, 30-24, 30-27 victory over the second-seeded Nittany Lions in front of 5,125 sent the Bruins to Saturday's 8 p.m. championship match against top- seeded Pepperdine, a 30-16, 31-29. For the Bruins, whose appearance in the tournament as an at-large selection had been met with some indignation, a 19th national championship and a bit of redemption are one victory away. ``The only way we're going to prove everyone wrong,'' senior outside hitter Jonathan Acosta said, ``is by fulfilling what we want to achieve, which is to win tonight and win Saturday.'' Prahler, a senior walk-on who appeared in only 28 of the Bruins' 112 games this season, teamed with Acosta (16 kills) to provide a fearsome hitting duo. ``I was ready to go,'' Prahler said. ``It's been a roller-coaster ride all year, because we haven't really had a set lineup like other teams have. I just have to be ready, and I was tonight.'' UCLA (26-5) played a fundamentally sound match against the Nittany Lions (30-4), who had trouble with the Bruins' serving. UCLA had eight aces. ``That's like saying, 'Why is it so hard to hit a Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962, in Dayton, Ohio), is a starting pitcher for the New York Yankees, and is one of the preeminent pitchers in Major League history. In 2006, a poll of 32 ESPN analysts named Clemens the greatest living pitcher. fastball?''' said Penn State coach Mark Pavlik, whose team had won 14 consecutive matches since a March 8 loss to UCLA. The Nittany Lions have lost in the semifinals seven successive seasons. UCLA middle blocker Allan Vince, who sprained an ankle in practice this week and was considered questionable for the match, not only played, but he totaled eight kills, including a spike that sparked a game-turning six-point run in the first game. UCLA also held a slim lead throughout the second game. Rich Hammond, (818) 713-3611 rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com |
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