Ratledge Brings Full-Bore Style Into Tournament

Ed Ratledge is airborne again, which means one of two things will happen: He’ll either fly headfirst into the volleyball net or end up flat on his face.

At least it looks that way, given the awkward, strange approach the UCLA senior from Fountain Valley uses whenever a ball is set his direction.

But more often than not, Ratledge delivers a kill, skillfully banging the ball off the arms of a blocker or drilling it down the line with stunning accuracy.

His full-tilt, almost sideways approach may not be pretty--”It’s ugly,” he says of his style--but the results are working for the Bruins (27-5), who play Penn State (20-13) in an NCAA semifinal today at Fort Wayne, Ind.

Ratledge, a 6-foot-8 opposite hitter, leads the top-seeded Bruins with an average of 5.24 kills per game and is the only member of the Bruins to have 30 kills in a match this season--which he accomplished four times.

Ratledge, a left-hander, also broke his own school record for kills in a game with 21 against Cal State Northridge. He had 19 in a game last year against BYU.

Impressive numbers, indeed. Especially for a reserve.

Ratledge usually enters a match in place of Evan Thatcher, another 6-8 senior. Ratledge started a handful of times, but he relishes his role off the bench.

“I’m an adrenaline junkie, just like those guys who jump out of airplanes and stuff,” Ratledge said. “Coming in and leading the team is the biggest rush. I like it better than starting. All of a sudden, it’s sink or swim. If I sink, Evan comes back in. If I swim, I’m there for the rest of the match.”

Ratledge was swimming in a pivotal match last week against Pepperdine in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship.

The Bruins played poorly at first, but Ratledge, who entered midway through the opening game, delivered 23 of his 27 kills in the next three games to help UCLA win, 6-15, 15-11, 15-4, 15-9.

He also had a career-high nine blocks as the Bruins locked up an automatic berth to the NCAA Final Four. Had UCLA lost, it might have been aced out for the lone at-large bid by USC.

Ratledge saved the Bruins, which might be considered a returned favor.

After starring at Fountain Valley High, Ratledge enrolled at Long Beach State. He redshirted as a freshman before becoming a starter the next season and playing in 26 matches.

But as a sophomore, Long Beach retooled its offense, putting Ratledge in position to pass the ball, duties more associated with an outside hitter than an opposite.

“I wasn’t particularly good at [passing], seeing how I’d never done it before,” Ratledge said.

So he wallowed in a part-time role, playing in 13 matches and becoming increasingly dissatisfied.

“You go home at night and you’re just in a bad mood where everything annoys you,” Ratledge said. “It’s root was not having a position I should have had.”

He transferred to UCLA, which, along with Long Beach, had recruited him in high school.

He played in 19 matches last year and tied a school record with six aces against UC San Diego, but he “didn’t quite gel with the team,” he said.

Then came this season--and often spectacular displays of dominance. He had 46 kills in a match against Cal State Northridge and 43 against Hawaii.

But along the way, Ratledge has been kept humble. Even after some of his best matches, he has been immediately returned to reserve status by Coach Al Scates.

“I accept what he lays down,” Ratledge said of Scates, who has guided UCLA to 17 NCAA titles. “How can you not accept what the best coach in any college sport says?”

And against Penn State, Scates is saying it will be business as usual. Thatcher will start.

“If he falters, Ed’s ready to go,” Scates said.

A simple plan devised by a coach who, with Ratledge, has plenty in reserve.