NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament : Daiva Tomkus Plays a Big Role for UCLA

In Lithuania, where her parents grew up, the name, Daiva, means goddess of the goddesses.

But in Canoga Park, where Daiva Tomkus grew up, that goddess stuff is a little too much for the modest 6-foot 1-inch star of UCLA’s volleyball team, who prefers to do her shining on the court.

All the better for UCLA, because Tomkus is a major reason for the Bruins’ home-court advantage tonight against Brigham Young in the second round of the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. volleyball tournament at Pauley Pavilion.

UCLA (32-0), the country’s No. 1-ranked team, will open the 4-team West Regional against No. 12 BYU (26-10) at 6 p.m., followed by a match between No. 2 Stanford (28-2) and No. 9 Washington (21-6). The winners will play for the regional title at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, the champion advancing to the Final Four next week at Minneapolis.

“Our team doesn’t seem that pressured yet,” said Tomkus, a junior studying psychology.

“We have always taken the attitude of playing one game at a time, and as long as we think that way, we should be OK.”

Tomkus, a middle blocker, was named the Pacific 10 Conference player of the year, the first Bruin so honored. She led the Pac-10 in hitting percentage and service aces, and led her team in almost every category. Nationally, she ranks 13th in hitting percentage and 18th in service aces.

Yet, Tomkus’ attitude seems to help her team the most.

“She’s tremendous,” UCLA Coach Andy Banachowski said. “She’s as physically strong as any player we have had, and yet there is still a lot of freshness to her.

“She is really new to the game, and that shows through in excitement when she plays. She is very open, and her personality helps the other players, especially this year. Daiva remembers what it’s like to be new, what she went through, and she is a lot of help to the freshmen.”

Freshmen Elaine Youngs, Jenny Evans and Laurie Jones have also played key roles in UCLA’s undefeated season. Banachowski cites their all-around athletic prowess and the carry-over from having played in successful programs in high school and clubs.

Youngs, for instance, an outside hitter, earned a spot in the starting rotation as a middle-blocker and demonstrated her ability to handle pressure by having her best match against Stanford, the Bruins’ toughest opponent.

Ann Boyer, the team’s lone senior, has run UCLA’s offense from the setter position, and, along with junior hitter Jenny Crocker, has provided consistency and experience. Sophomore Samantha Shaver, an outside hitter who led the Bruins in digs with 362, completes the lineup.

Said Stanford Coach Don Shaw at a news conference Thursday:

“Unlike the other three coaches, I’m not happy to be here. I’d rather be in another regional, but then we get into the seeding thing and that’s a different story.”

Shaw was referring to the NCAA’s method of handling postseason play. In order to encourage parity, the NCAA does not seed, and instead assigns teams to one of four regionals, usually according to the school’s location. Thus, although UCLA and Stanford are the country’s No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams, only one can reach the Final Four, which ideally is supposed to include the top four teams in the country.

Volleyball Notes

Stanford’s only 2 losses have been to the Bruins, who defeated the Cardinal in 3 games in September and 4 games in a match last month. . . . Stanford and BYU have been the Bruins’ toughest opponents all season, with BYU losing to UCLA last month in 3 deuce games. . . . Washington was picked to place ninth in the Pac-10, and wound up ranking ninth nationally and finishing third in the conference. . . . Andy Banachowski was named the Pac-10 coach of the year. He has won 4 national championships in his 22 years at UCLA--the last one in 1984.