U.S. Volleyball Team Beats Japan : International competition: Americans end losing season on high note and insist team will be great again.

By now, the U.S. men’s volleyball team has become accustomed to the growing pains of grooming young players and rookie coaches for the rigors of international competition.

Only two years after winning the Olympic gold medal, the United States has become a team in transition.

Again.

The Americans, playing with a new coach and only one player from the 1988 team, swept Japan, 15-11, 15-8, 15-10, Sunday night at the Bren Center.

But change has been the operative word for the U.S. team.

The U.S. program, circa 1982:

--The Americans finish 13th at the world championships.

--In an attempt to reconstruct the program, the U.S. Volleyball Assn. hires a new coach.

--Behind the play of Karch Kiraly and Steve Timmons, the United States goes on to win every major international competition, including the 1984 and ’88 Olympics.

The U.S. program, circa 1990:

--The Americans finish a disappointing 13th at the world championships.

--Citing problems with the management of the U.S. Volleyball Assn., Coach Bill Neville resigns.

--Kiraly and Timmons catch flights to Italy after signing six-figure contracts to play professionally there.

The lure of big money overseas has forced the U.S. team to reconstruct its lineup.

Scott Fortune, a former standout a Laguna Beach High School and Stanford, is the only player left from the 1988 team. He says he’s staying put--for now.

Fortune played a small role in the U.S. team’s victory in 1988, but the 6-foot-6 middle blocker and outside hitter is the team captain and leader. Fortune had 22 kills and Allen Allen had 30 on Sunday.

The victory gave the Americans a 2-2 record against Japan. The United States finished the 1990 season 23-38 and will break for the rest of the year.

“I can’t describe how long this year has been,” Fortune said. He and his teammates are caught in a merry-go-round of coaching changes. Neville, who took over for Marv Dunphy after the 1988 Olympics, quit in September. He said “months of frustration” led to his resignation, adding that the U.S. Volleyball Assn. wasn’t giving the team enough direction and support.

The team was quick to replace Neville, naming assistant Jim Coleman interim coach until January, when Stanford Coach Fred Sturm will take over.

“We’ve run into some bumps where we don’t have the money and the great players,” Coleman said. “But I think we’ll make a smooth transition . . . and have a good team.”

The latest situation is one U.S. volleyball fans are all too familiar with.

The United States struggled in international volleyball when Kiraly and Timmons arrived in 1981. It wasn’t until the 1984 Olympics that the United States established itself as an international power. Behind the play of Kiraly and Timmons, a former standout at Newport Harbor High School, the U.S. team dominated international competition for the next four years.

But after the 1988 Olympics, the team began breaking up.

Kiraly and Timmons left for the pro beach circuit in 1989, then for Italy in October.

Other starters on the 1988 team, Bob Ctvrtlik, Jeff Stork, Doug Partie and Craig Buck, also left for the Italian leagues.

But several top players from the 1988 team, including Timmons, may return before the ’92 Olympics.

Fortune said the Americans have a bright future.

“With a few more experienced players back, we should be good again,” he said.