BYU Final Hurdle for UCLA

Even before the Brigham Young-Penn State semifinal match Thursday night, UCLA Coach Al Scates made it clear which he preferred to play for the NCAA men’s volleyball championship.

“I’d like to face BYU,” he said. “They are the only team that beat us who we have not had a chance to beat yet.”

The sport’s greatest powerhouse against the newest power will meet today to claim volleyball supremacy. UCLA (24-7) is attempting to extend its number of national titles to 19, a record in any sport. Brigham Young won the 1999 championship and is in its second final.

In their only matchup this season, on Feb. 23, the Cougars won, 30-22, 28-30, 30-26, 30-22, in front of a sellout crowd at Provo, Utah. Scates said he didn’t believe his team played well and never adjusted to the altitude.

BYU middle blocker Mac Wilson said the Cougars have a tremendous home-court advantage, which won’t be the case tonight.

“There’s always a difference when people come to Provo,” he said. “We know we don’t have that advantage here. We need to play a lot better than we did then.”

BYU is trying to take advantage of a second chance after losing in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation semifinals to Hawaii. The Cougars (22-4) earned the at-large berth into the NCAA semifinals largely because they have the nation’s best record percentage-wise and held the No. 1 ranking longer than any other team.

On Thursday, they turned back a Penn State team that outhit them (.390 to .383) and had more kills (82 to 60) and service aces (five to three).

BYU’s greatest advantage lies in its blocking ability. Scott Bunker was involved in 11 blocks against the Nittany Lions. The Cougars had 28 total, setting up a challenge in the middle against UCLA’s quick-hitting tandem of Adam Naeve and Scott Morrow.

For the season, the Cougars have nearly twice as many blocks as their opponents--377 to 195. That doesn’t faze Naeve, who had 15 kills and no hitting errors in the Bruins’ semifinal victory over Ohio State.

“I really don’t pay attention to the block,” Naeve said. “I try to challenge it as much as possible.”

Senior outside hitter Mark Williams, who played on the Australian national team in the Sydney Olympics, said the Bruins have been on a roll since the regular-season finale against Stanford. UCLA won the MPSF tournament and the conference’s automatic berth by beating Hawaii.

“It was like getting the monkey off our backs,” Williams said of the five-game victory April 21. “I don’t think we matched up well against them. It was our biggest pressure match of the season and we came through.

“We got hot at MPSF and we’ve been playing well since then.”

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The Facts

* What--NCAA volleyball championship match.

* Who--UCLA (24-7) vs. Brigham Young (22-4).

* When--Today, 4 p.m., ESPN2

* Where--The Pyramid in Long Beach.

* Tickets--Pyramid box office, (562) 985-4949.