by Matt Paulson
Sports Editor
With wins over University of California, Santa Cruz and New York University Saturday, the University of La Verne men’s volleyball team took one step closer to securing the West Coast bid to this year’s national tournament at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Penn.
ULV’s only West Coast competition for the bid, the seventh-ranked Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz, fell to the Leopards 28-30, 36-34, 28-30, 30-20 and 15-13 Saturday evening.
The two teams compete in three matches each season. Last year, ULV won all three matches in a perfect nine games against the Slugs, easily receiving the bid.
This year, the Leopards have won both matches in which the two teams have played, winning the first handily in January, 3-0, and the second Saturday. As only one match remains this season, ULV has secured the best-of-three series in which the two teams play, placing them as a clear favorite to receive the West Coast national bid.
“This win gives us a lot of confidence regarding nationals, but after what happened in 2001, we’re not making any reservations,” said senior middle blocker Nate Silva.
In 2001, UC Santa Cruz beat ULV once at Santa Cruz while the Leopards defeated the Banana Slugs twice at home, winning the three-match series, 2-1.
However, Clarke College of Dubuque, Iowa also defeated the Slugs twice at home, but received the bid because Clarke never lost to Santa Cruz, even though it only played the Slugs twice.
“I can’t come up with any equation that we don’t go,” said associate head coach Morgan Coberly. “It looks good, but I don’t want to say much until we go.”
Santa Cruz played a career match, in front of a tiny audience of Leopard fans and Slug hecklers alike, taking the Leopards to five games, which is a vast improvement on the quick, three-game routs ULV has handed the Slugs the last four times the two teams have faced off.
“(Santa Cruz) played unbelievable, completely over their heads,” Coberly said.
Earlier in the day, the fourth-ranked Leopards faced No. 5 in the nation, NYU. Led by freshman Matt Cornell with 17 kills and senior David Engle with 16 kills, ULV forged past the Violets 30-27, 30-25, 26-30 and 30-27.
The Violets, the host of last year’s national tournament, in which ULV placed second, lost to the Leopards in the Molten Classic, ULV’s mid-season tournament, last year.
The two squads have formed a rather intense bi-coastal rivalry.
“We hate them,” Silva said. “I love beating them more than anything.”
Saturday’s match was all green and orange as ULV edged the Violets in every major statistical category, including kills (63-59), hitting percentage (.181-.160), blocks (11-7) and digs (62-58).
A consistent middle blocker attack also aided ULV’s victory, as Engle boasted a .406 percentage, while Silva displayed a mark of .375.
“We said our middles were going to be the best in the country, and this weekend, they proved it,” Coberly said.
Tuesday, ULV faced No. 15 ranked Division I competition, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Coming off two key Division III wins, the Leopards began the match with a lackluster performance in the opening game.
“UCSB is a different caliber team than any D-IIIs,” Silva said. “It takes a lot more to beat them.”
As a team, ULV put away only 11 balls on 29 attempts with eight errors for a percentage of .103, which paled in comparison to the Gauchos’ .478.
The game was never in doubt; UCSB held the Leopards to less than 20 points, as the final score read 30-19.
The Leopards stepped up in game two, riding 16 team kills to a 30-27 loss.
In game three, the Coberly coaching duo subbed in freshman Adam Hilton to set and senior Jay Chapman to play opposite.
This substitution moved Brad Evans from setter to outside hitter, where he accumulated five kills on an errorless 11 attempts for a team-high hitting percentage of .455. As a setter, he also tallied 21 assists and two service aces.
Overall, the Leopard offensive attack in the match suffered, as only three Leopards hit in positive percentages.
ULV’s next match is against UC Santa Cruz at 7 p.m., tonight in the Supertents. This match is the third of the three-match series in which the two teams play every year.
Although ULV has already clinched the series by, winning the first two matches this year to further ensure a bid to the national tournament, winning tonight’s match is crucial.
“It’s a rivalry,” Coberly said. “It’s not about the final four. It’s about beating your rival. The guys are fired up to play them.”
