COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL : UCLA Struggles to Fifth Consecutive Classic Title

The top-ranked UCLA men’s volleyball team was caught flat against sixth-ranked Long Beach State on Saturday, but managed to rise just enough for a 12-15, 15-10, 15-10, 15-11 victory in the final of the UCLA Classic before 1,908 at Pauley Pavilion.

It was the Bruins’ 31st consecutive home victory and their fifth UCLA Classic championship in a row. But the victory, which took two hours, 15 minutes and included seven yellow caution cards, five of which were awarded to Long Beach, was hard fought.

“I didn’t think we played very well tonight,� UCLA Coach Al Scates said. “It’s good to win ugly, and that’s what I felt we did tonight. We had some staying power. It wasn’t smooth. Nothing went easily.�

UCLA’s 6-foot-7 starting swing hitter Kevin Wong hit only .185, including 12 kills and seven errors in 27 attempts. Scates almost pulled Wong, but stayed with him because he was digging and passing well.

The Bruins’ setter, Stein Metzger, also struggled.

“I think Stein had one of his rare bad nights and it set our hitters’ timing off a little bit,� Scates said. “He just said, ‘Stay with me fellas and we’ll get better,’ And it did.�

Paul Nihipali led UCLA (22-1) with 32 kills, hitting .367. He was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

UCLA used two blockers against Long Beach’s Tom Hoff, a 6-foot-7 middle blocker, but still had difficulty stopping him.

“He went over us in the beginning, but as the game wore on he didn’t have that same vertical jump,� Scates said. “He finally started making some errors at the end.�

Hoff led upstart Long Beach (18-8) with 27 kills, hitting .263.