Volleyball Team Feeling Optimistic

The UC Irvine men’s volleyball team could find better places to start the season than BYU--the Cougars were ranked fifth at the end of last season.

But scheduling difficulties put the Anteaters in Provo, Utah, Thursday and Friday. Then again, this might be the best thing for a team looking to joust at taller windmills.

A year ago, the Anteaters had their moments and were ranked as high a 14th before the brutal Mountain Pacific Sports Federation schedule took its toll. Irvine finished 9-15.

Things have changed.

For starters, a private group has stepped forward to help fund the program. It will give the Anteaters the 4 1/2 scholarships allowed by the NCAA.

Even before the cash flow begins, a new attitude has taken over.

“I think we can accomplish a lot this season,” senior outside hitter Mike Rupp said. “Hopefully we can make the [conference] playoffs. That’s my only goal. I haven’t made the playoffs my three years here.”

Three years? The Anteaters have not made the Mountain Pacific tournament since the conference was formed six years ago.

The only conference tournament they have qualified for was the Southern California Volleyball Assn. in 1988. It was more of a volleyball outpost than a conference--Irvine beat LaVerne in the championship match.

Rupp said no such prodding has been required this season.

“There is a completely different feel in practice,” Rupp said. “There is a better quality of player. My sophomore year, we barely had enough to scrimmage competitively.”

Recruits such as Erick Helenihi (Villa Park) have made the Anteaters deeper and better. Third-year Coach Charlie Brande has secured one of the top setters in the nation for next season in Jarrett Jensen (Encinitas La Costa Canyon High School), who committed in November.

“You can tell the difference already,” senior outside hitter Donnie Rafter said. “Guys used to goof off in practice. Then Charlie came in and that doesn’t happen anymore.”

Irvine equaled its highest victory total last season. The Anteaters beat UC Santa Barbara and USC for the first time.

“When I first got here, we had to talk a lot in practice about competing,” Brande said. “The players take care of that pretty well now.”

And will be taken care of in return.

The athletic department bumped the program’s funding from $13,000 to $35,000 this year. David Colton, head of Colton Properties, will chair a committee that will cover the rest to allow the Anteaters to be fully funded.

“I feel very good with where the program is headed,” Brande said. “We had the best preseason we’ve had since I’ve been here.”

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Not that a 4-6 record is anything to boast about--then again, this is the Big West Conference--but men’s basketball Coach Pat Douglass feels the Anteaters are not too far off his expectations entering conference play.

“I hoped we would be 5-5,” Douglass said. “I’m more concerned about our freshmen getting game experience and learning to compete.

“Sometimes we do the things necessary to compete. Sometimes we don’t perform like I want us to.”

Irvine’s deficiency remains inside, where centers Matt Willard and Mark Gottschalk have had little impact. Gottschalk likely will. But that might be a year away.

“That is where we get attacked every game,” Douglass said.

The Anteaters could get a boost with the return of 6-foot-8 Stan Divranos, who has missed five games because of a lower back strain.

Divranos said the decision to play is up to him, and he said he will play against North Texas. Douglass is more cautious, waiting to see how Divranos responds to a workout on Monday.

Of course, Divranos hasn’t dominated the middle, averaging two points and two rebounds in five games. His slow development might have been caused by the back injury.

“We hope that was the case,” Douglass said. “He will give us five more fouls [at the center position].”

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She got mail: Irvine guard Megan Stafford seemed to get the message.

After being benched in the Duquesne game for her play--two unacceptable early fouls topping Coach Mark Adams’ list--she came back and demonstrated how good she can be when motivated.

With Irvine trailing, 62-60, Stafford drove the length of the floor in six seconds for the game-tying shot against Loyola Marymount. She hit a running jumper, was fouled and hit the free throw with 0.7 seconds.

Said Adams: “They tried to double team her and she got by them. She went by another player at halfcourt, then a fourth one fouled her. Game over.

“She even played defense well at times.”

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Forward Char-Pei Chen has decided to end her career because of a degenerative disk in her back. Chen, a senior, missed the first seven games because of the injury, then played against Arkansas State. Her back was reexamined last week.

The injury, though, will mean more playing time for Brandy Hudson, a 6-1 freshman. Hudson has picked up her play in the last two weeks, starting with the Pepperdine tournament.

Hudson made her first start against Arkansas State and had 14 points and seven rebounds. The next night against Youngstown (Ohio) State, she came off the bench and had nine points and five rebounds.

She had nine points and four rebounds against Loyola Marymount.

“I think Brandy just got tired of being knocked around in practice,” Adams said.