Volleyball

A troublesome thought found its way to Erwin Ramirez just before the championship match, as if sailing on currents of warm air inside the gymnasium, carried by the cheers of the crowd. How are we going to pull this one out? It wasn't the first time he and the rest of the Salesian High team had felt like underdogs. They seemed all wrong for volleyball, too short, most of them Latino kids from East L.A., where people don't grow up around the game.

BEIJING -- With the crowd screaming and emotions swirling, the U.S. men's Olympic volleyball team formed a circle on the Capital Gymnasium floor and did something unprecedented. They didn't speak. The solemn moment of silence contrasted sharply with the hugs and smiles that came late Sunday afternoon when Clay Stanley's blocked spike fell out of bounds, finally securing the U.S. team's five-set, opening-match victory over Venezuela.

BEIJING -- He wore his blue USA sweat jacket zipped up to the neck, tight, as if it were a nylon piece of armor. His eyes were vacant, pierced by the reality that even in its most charmed moments, life carries no shield. "It hurts," said Hugh McCutcheon, the U.S. men's volleyball coach. "I think it's something that no one should ever have to go through." His sport is one of both soaring sets and vicious spikes.

UC Irvine blended its power game with great defense to beat Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne, 30-20, 24-30, 30-23, 30-28, to win its first NCAA volleyball title Saturday. Matt Webber was selected the tournament MVP, but don't try telling him he's any more valuable than any of the other Anteaters. "MVP to me means, I don't know, it doesn't mean much," the 6-foot-7 senior said. "We did it. We played as a team. For one guy to stand out doesn't make much sense.

Fifth-seeded USC defeated fourth-seeded Texas, 30-25, 30-22, 30-26, at Gainesville, Fla., in the fourth round of the NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament Saturday to earn a berth in next week's Final Four at Arco Arena in Sacramento. USC (29-4) out-hit the Longhorns, .373 to .273, including a 20-kill, .514 hitting performance in the decisive third game. All-American Asia Kaczor had a team-high 17 kills for the Trojans, and Diane Copenhagen had 13 kills and 12 digs.

UCLA's string of upsets continued Saturday at UC Irvine, where the men's volleyball team beat its third consecutive opponent ranked third or higher nationally. The fifth-ranked Bruins, who finished seventh in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, won their 25th conference title by winning their 12th consecutive match, beating second-ranked Long Beach State, 24-30, 30-28, 30-23, 30-24. It assured the Bruins (24-12) of a shot at a 19th NCAA title beginning Thursday at State College, Pa.

Steve Klosterman had 14 kills and Damien Scott finished with 10 as second-seeded UCLA swept Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne in three games in the men's NCAA Division I volleyball semifinals on Thursday. Three other Bruins registered eight or more kills, and Dennis Gonzalez had 40 assists in the 30-25, 30-23, 30-28 victory. UCLA, which extended its winning streak to 13 games, will play Penn State, which upset top-seeded UC Irvine, 32-30, 30-23, 31-33, 27-30, 15-13, Saturday night for the championship.

UCLA has won 13 matches in a row, but if the hottest men's volleyball team in the country is to win a 19th NCAA title today, it must do so on its opponent's home floor. The second-seeded Bruins will be facing tournament host Penn State, whose fourth-seeded Nittany Lions on Thursday upset No. 1 UC Irvine, 32-30, 30-23, 31-33, 27-30, 15-13, in the Division I semifinals.

Steve Klosterman and Damien Scott helped UCLA win its NCAA-record 19th volleyball title Saturday, leading the Bruins to a 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 victory over Penn State. Klosterman had 14 kills and seven digs, and Damien Scott had 12 kills for the Bruins (26-12) in their 14th straight victory. "It's very satisfying," UCLA Coach Al Scates, who is in his 44th season, said. "This team did not get very much respect.

The scores of workmen who had spent the last week frantically applying the finishing touches on the Galen Center were gone Thursday night, replaced by hordes of USC fans eager to open the school's long-awaited athletic facility in style. Cheers rang out as the fourth-ranked USC women's volleyball team rattled off the first five points against No. 6 Stanford, but USC could not sustain the momentum during a 30-21, 30-26, 30-28 defeat in the building's first athletic event.