by Chrissy Zehrbach
Sports Editor
Riding a 3-0 win over Hope International University, the University of La Verne men’s volleyball team is heading into one of the toughest weekends on this season’s schedule.
“It was important to get a win. We’ve had a tough schedule up to this point, and with our young team, it’s nice to get a win under our belt going into this weekend. It’s really important for us, good for their confidence,” head coach Morgan Coberly said.
This weekend the Leopards face their main competition for a bid to the national tournament, University of California Santa Cruz.
“It’s one of the most important weekends by far,” Coberly said. “Santa Cruz is the most important match of the year. A win there really puts us in the driver’s seat for going to the Final Four.”
The Leopards blew past Hope Tuesday night, 30-22, 30-24, 30-26, never relinquishing a lead by more than one point.
ULV was the dominant force on the court, almost doubling the Royals in kills. ULV put 55 away and allowed Hope only 27, outhitting Hope’s .200 with a .394 team hitting percentage – the Leopards’ highest hitting percentage this season.
“We played well as a team,” said sophomore outside hitter Matt Cornell. “We went in expecting to win and took care of business.”
Cornell led ULV offensively with 13 kills. Junior opposite Dwayne Wibeto hit .667 with 11 kills on 15 attempts with only one error.
As a team the Leopards only recorded five blocks in the contest, the same number as their opponents.
“We missed too many serves and didn’t block much, but offensively we played well – that kept us in it the whole match,” Coberly said.
ULV is 3-7 on the season, a record of which Coberly said does not reflect the strength of the team.
“When you look at our losses – they’re all Division I ranked teams,” Coberly said, adding that a win against a Division I team would earn points for rankings in Division III, where ULV is currently ranked No. 3.
The squad’s most recent loss came Feb. 20 to UC San Diego, 3-0 (30-24, 30-26, 30-22).
“San Diego is a very good team this year, very experienced,” Coberly said. “We have a young team that has been playing up and down. But we played steady and didn’t let down emotionally.”
Cornell was once again the leader in kills for ULV against the Tritons, with 16. He has been the kills leader in nine out of the ten games played this season, averaging 12 kills per game. Cornell’s season-high was 20 kills against Princeton University, Jan. 28.
“There hasn’t been a lot of consistency, but Matt Cornell has been playing really well lately,” Coberly said. “We’re trying to get more consistent.”
The Tritons, No. 13 in Division I/II, had a team hitting percentage of .409 in the match and seven team blocks.
“They were just bigger, stronger and faster,” said Ricky Estrada, a sophomore outside hitter who had 12 kills in the contest. “We didn’t play good defense.”
But the Leopards were not completely outmatched. While UCSD had 50 kills and 29 defensive digs, ULV trailed on its heels with 49 kills and 28 digs.
“We just have trouble finishing games,” said junior setter Dave Doxey.
Hope International was the Leopards’ first win on the road this season, but they will look for two more this weekend as they face Stanford University and UC Santa Cruz in Northern California.
“I think that the Stanford match is winnable,” Coberly said. “They’re a tough team that’s thought of as a powerhouse, but I think they’re beatable. Offensively we’ve been strong lately, if we can pick it up on the defensive end, I think we can beat Stanford.”
“Stanford’s going to be a tough game, but we’ve got a possibility to win if we play well,” Cornell said. “If we do the little things right there’s no reason why we couldn’t win.”
The Leopards have not faced Stanford since 2001, but have already faced Santa Cruz once this year.
The Leopards swept the Banana Slugs, 3-0, Jan. 16 in the Supertents. But Coberly said it will be a different atmosphere in Santa Cruz.
“We beat them pretty handily, but it’s tough playing up there. They play a lot better home than away,” Coberly said.
ULV is searching for its third consecutive West Coast bid to the Division III Molten Invitational and should be able to clench it with another win over Santa Cruz.
