BARCELONA ’92 OLYMPICS : ORANGE COUNTY OLYMPIC NOTEBOOK : Spanish Fans Will Be Obstacle to U.S. Water Polo Gold Medal

U.S. water polo player John Vargas hasn’t bought any earplugs yet, but they might come in handy in today’s Olympic semifinal match.

Standing between the United States and the gold-medal match is Spain. And the Spanish fans.

“They’ll be all over us,” said Vargas, who played at UC Irvine and is in his 10th season coaching Corona del Mar High’s team. “They’ll be hissing, yelling, screaming. They’ll bring whistles. They sound just like the referee’s whistles, and that’s distracting. The fans don’t care what they do. They love it. They’ll do anything to distract us.”

It has become an annoying habit among the Spanish fans throughout the Games, said Vargas, a driver who plays about half of each match. The whistles blow while the opposing team is on the attack, thus causing confusion among the players and helping Spain.

“The Spanish fans are knowledgeable,” he said. “They do it at the right time.”

He figures a crowd of 10,000 will attend the match, and will give Spain an overwhelming home-pool advantage.

The United States is favored but has had trouble against Spain in the past. The U.S. beat the Spaniards, 7-6, on a late goal in the FINA Cup semifinals last year.

Craig Wilson, the U.S. team goalie who plays professionally in Barcelona, has done a good job of scouting the Spanish team. Aside from the fans, they expect no surprises.

“We feel pretty good about this match,” Vargas said. “Craig knows their shooting (attack). We just have to relax and play smart. If they score early on us, it will be tough to get back in it.”

The crowd will make sure of that.

Steve Timmons’ bid to become the first Olympic volleyball player to win three consecutive gold medals fell short Friday--by a hair.

The United States team, undefeated without their hair, lost to Brazil, 12-15, 15-8, 15-9, 15-12, in a semifinal match and will play Cuba on Sunday in the bronze-medal match. Brazil will meet the Netherlands in Sunday’s final.

After losing the Olympic opener to Japan because of a protest, the Americans, led by Newport Beach’s Timmons, responded by shaving their heads in protest. It was also a way of showing support for Samuelson, who is bald because of a scalp condition.

The Americans went 5-0 after that--until Friday, when they were brushed aside by Brazil, which remained the only undefeated team in the tournament.

Kim Oden wasn’t about to leave the Olympics empty-handed again.

Oden and her sister, Elaina, led the U.S. women’s volleyball team to a 15-8, 15-6, 15-13 sweep of Brazil in the bronze-medal match.

The victory eased the pain of a five-game loss to Cuba on Thursday. It also erased Kim’s disappointment at the 1988 Olympics, when she led the United States in hitting percentage (.733) but the team finished seventh.

“We decided we wanted to come away with something,” she said after winning the bronze. “It’s not gold, but we’ll take it, gladly.”

Elaina Oden, who dominated at the net and finished with 23 kills, also found redemption with a bronze medal. She missed the 1988 Olympics because of a knee injury.

WHO’S COMPETING TODAY

--Greg Barton, Newport Beach, in men’s kayak 1,000-meter singles and in 1,000-meter doubles finals with Norman Bellingham, who trains in Newport Beach.

--Sheila Conover, Newport Beach, and Cathy Marino, Huntington Beach, in women’s kayak fours finals.

--Mark Hamilton, Costa Mesa, in men’s kayak 1,000-meter quad finals with Chris Barlow, San Diego; Michael Herbert, Mascoutah, Ill., and Terry Kent, Rochester, N.Y.

--Jeff Campbell (UC Irvine), Mike Evans (UC Irvine), Chris Duplanty (UC Irvine), Doug Kimbell (Orange), John Vargas (UC Irvine) and Coach Bill Barnett (Newport Beach) with the U.S. water polo team in semifinal match against Spain.

This report was compiled by Times Staff Writer Mike Reilley.