TYSON EVANS Sophomore Chris Pena and senior
Matt Komer block the volleyball.
By Diamond Leung
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Tonight at Pauley Pavilion, the top-ranked UCLA men’s
volleyball team plays against Lewis.
Who or what is Lewis, you ask?
“It’s a small school, but it’s a big time
volleyball school,” UCLA head coach Al Scates said.
No. 9 Lewis University (Ill.) is a Division II program that has
done well over the years. Scates points to recruiting as the key to
its success, with five foreign players listed on the Flyer
roster.
One of them is All-American opposite hitter Fabiano Barreto. The
sophomore from Brazil was shut down on Jan. 17 at the Outrigger
Tournament ““ the last time UCLA played Lewis ““ but is a
force to be reckoned with.
Another foreign player is 22-year-old freshman outside hitter
Gustavo Meyer from Mexico. He led Lewis in kills in the Jan. 17
match. The Flyers, led by Meyer, put up a good fight against the
Bruins on that day but lost in four games.
However, Meyer is now being held out of action by the university
until his eligibility is cleared. He is currently travelling with
the team.
“We’re going to have two game plans ““ one with
him and one without him,” Scates said.
UCLA doesn’t exactly have all of its weapons, either.
Freshman Jonathan Acosta, sophomore Parker Smith and sophomore
Jesse Debban are outside hitters still sitting out with injuries.
Freshman middle blocker Paul Johnson is also recovering from a
motorcycle accident.
“We were at full strength the last time we played
Lewis,” Scates said. “We don’t have quite the
same personnel now.”
Still, UCLA has enough depth to make up for its injuries.
Freshman outside hitter Gray Garrett has passed the ball well, and
even came up with a few kills. True freshman Kris Kraushaar and
freshman Brennan Prahler have also seen significant playing
time.
“Even our backup’s backup is good. They’ve
been getting the job done,” junior setter Rich Nelson said.
“Those guys make my job pretty easy.”
“We’ll eventually be at full strength,” added
Scates, just as Johnson trudged into his office on crutches.
Lewis (12-5) had a seven-match winning streak snapped by UC
Irvine on Saturday.
UCLA (16-3, 11-2 MPSF) has won four of its last five
matches.