NCAA Volleyball Tournament : Stanford Star Has Had A Bellyful of Disrespect; Vows to Churn Out a Title

Scott Fortune has been feeling sick to his stomach. However, that’s a positive sign for Stanford’s volleyball team.

Fortune, the Cardinal’s do-everything hitter from Laguna Beach, has a penchant for suffering abdominal misery shortly before--and sometimes during--the most important matches of his career.

Last summer in Seoul, for instance, Fortune was stricken with food poisoning four days before the United States played the Soviet Union in the Olympic gold-medal match.

Fortune, a backup middle blocker for Team USA, missed the semifinal against Brazil. But with his stomach still gurgling, he came off the bench in the final and put away match point to secure the gold as the United States defeated the Soviets in four games.

And last Saturday, suffering from a stomach virus that required sprints to the restroom between games, Fortune had 33 kills and 20 digs as Stanford defeated Hawaii in five games to win the Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. regional qualifying tournament at Loyola.

The victory earned Stanford its first berth in the National Collegiate Athletic Assn.’s Division I Final Four, which begins tonight at Pauley Pavilion.

Stanford (24-5), ranked second in the final regular-season poll, will play ninth-ranked Ball State (17-12) of Muncie, Ind., at 5:30. Top-ranked UCLA (27-5) will play 11th-ranked Penn State (16-10) in the other semifinal at 7:30.

“I still had a hard time keeping food down last night,” Fortune said the other day. “This could be a good omen.”

UCLA and Stanford, which split two conference matches this season, are expected to advance to Saturday night’s final.

But plenty of good Fortune will be required if Stanford is to become the first school other than UCLA, USC, Pepperdine or San Diego State to win a national title--especially with UCLA the host school.

The Bruins have won 12 national championships under Coach Al Scates since the NCAA began sponsoring men’s volleyball in 1970. They are 18-0 in playoff matches at Pauley.

“We’re in a good position to win it, but Stanford should be favored,” said Scates, who is in his 27th season with the Bruins. “Stanford has more firepower than anyone. You can’t ignore anybody on that team.”

Least of all Fortune, a 6-foot-6 senior who was a first-team All-American middle blocker for the Cardinal in 1987 before red-shirting so he could train full-time with the national team.

Marv Dunphy, who coached Team USA before returning to Pepperdine this season, called Fortune “the most receptive kid I have ever coached.”

Practicing daily against the best players in the world developed Fortune’s skills. It also instilled a commitment to perform at a peak level regardless of the strength of the competition.

“It’s something I learned last year playing with Karch (Kiraly) and Steve Timmons,” Fortune said. “Right from the start, when I got back to Stanford I tried to establish a different, more serious attitude than there was in the past.”

Fortune, a former All-Southern Section player at Laguna Beach High School, was one of several talented recruits--among them 6-6 junior middle blocker Dan Hanan of Edison High in Huntington Beach--culled by Stanford Coach Fred Sturm in the last five seasons. The influx of talent has helped Stanford overcome its reputation as nothing more than a token member of the powerful WIVA.

It also has allowed Sturm flexibility. Fortune, 23, was moved from middle blocker to the outside this season so the team could benefit from his hitting and passing.

“He’s a more polished volleyball player, a more intelligent volleyball player and he’s playing a larger leadership role,” Sturm said.

Fortune has responded to the switch by leading Stanford in kills, with 6.9 a game, and digs, with 2.9. He also shares responsibility for turning a Cardinal team that was 11-19 overall and 5-13 in conference last season into a unit that finished 17-3 in the WIVA and tied UCLA for the conference title.

“It was kind of frustrating on the national team, always hearing guys from UCLA, USC and Pepperdine saying, ‘Stanford? You guys were terrible and didn’t deserve to be in the league,’ ” said Fortune, who was the only member of the Olympic team with collegiate eligibility. “Winning a share of the league title was like vindication.”

Fortune said that Stanford wants to avenge the decision that forced the Cardinal to win the qualifying regional while UCLA was given a bye into the Final Four.

Because of a scheduling error, Stanford would have exceeded the NCAA match limit in a season had the Cardinal played a one-match playoff. UCLA was granted its bid simply by winning a coin-flip.

An NCAA championship would be a crowning addition to Fortune’s collection of championships, which already includes Laguna Beach High’s Southern Section title in 1983 and the Olympic gold he won in 1988.

“Stanford has been the butt of a lot of jokes,” Fortune said. “We’re going to try and change that this weekend.”

Even if it makes him sick.