UCI cruising with captain at helm

Paul Spittle does not have the talent to put his team on his shoulders and carry it to victory. The strength, perhaps, but not the talent.

The UC Irvine men’s volleyball team has not won by virtue of the outside hitter’s dominance at the net. Nor did it ascend to the No. 1 national ranking on the heels of his proficiency with passing, serving or blocking.

Yet, in the midst of a 21-match winning streak, the latest of which Saturday clinched the program’s first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season title and a berth in the conference tournament semifinals (April 27), most agree the Anteaters would not be sniffing such rarified air without the leg up provided by their 6-foot-1, 175-pound captain from Redondo Beach.

Spittle, who has started all season, does not rank in the top three in any statistical category. But UCI Coach John Speraw said he is unrivaled in at least one department.

“His biggest attribute is his natural leadership ability,” Speraw said. “He’s probably the best team leader I’ve ever been around or ever seen. And I’ve been around some great team leaders at UCLA [where he played and was an assistant for four years before taking over at UCI prior to Spittle’s freshman season]. Paul is just a tremendous, tremendous leader.”

Speraw said Spittle’s intensity, competitiveness and outgoing personality are all components of his ability to inspire. But it’s Spittle’s work ethic, Speraw believes, that thrusts the undersized overachiever to the forefront in terms of his teammates’ esteem.

“If you talk to anyone about the fundamental traits of a leader the first is, you have to lead by example,” Speraw said. “There’s no question Paul is the hardest worker on the team. Whether it’s in the weight room or on the court. When you work as hard as he does, it certainly brings credibility to your role as a team leader.”

Spittle was recruited by former men’s coach Charlie Brande as a libero out of St. John Bosco High.

“I couldn’t stand libero,” Spittle said. “I was recruited as a libero, because I don’t think any school would have thought of me as an outside hitter. But I thought I could help the team more playing outside, even if I was on the second team.”

That’s exactly where he was his first two seasons, before averaging 1.4 kills per game as a junior. This season, he is averaging 2.03 kills per game with a .266 hitting percentage, well beyond what Speraw had hoped.

“He has done a great job, for us, offensively,” Speraw said. “One thing he had to do [to improve this season] was understand shot selection. He’s so aggressive, that he was swinging 100% on every set, trying to get a hard-driven kill. This season, he has learned when to swing hard and when to hit smart. Now, he hits high [off blockers hands for points] and he has minimized his errors. He has also continued to improve on his block, his serve and his passing. He has become a more all-around player.”

Spittle, the team’s lone senior starter, said he worked and willed himself into the lineup, grimacing through weight workouts, so he could eventually smile at those who said he’d never be a Division I outside hitter.

“It was a challenge to me that everyone said I wasn’t going to be able to play outside,” Spittle said. “It was always fun for me to say ‘No? You’ll see one day.’

“I’m not the biggest guy, so I knew the only way I was ever going to get on the court and have success would be because of my work ethic in the weight room.”

Spittle squats 400 pounds, bench presses 250, and the fervor he carries through workouts has inspired awe.

“I love it more than anything,” Spittle said of lifting. “I find a challenge every single time I go in the weight room. And I feel like I have to set a standard for the other guys. We’re all here to win a national championship and the only way to do that is for all the guys to get stronger.”

Spittle’s resolve to win an NCAA title has spread throughout his teammates, some of whom have expressed a desire to send their captain out with a championship ring.

Toward that end, Spittle said he plans to help his team maintain the focus that has allowed it to win 21 straight, and compile a 27-3 record.

The most wins in one season posted by any previous UCI team were 20.

“Before matches, I try to keep guys calm and focused, though that has become a group effort,” Spittle said. “On the court, I try to keep our team poised and in control. The best quarterbacks are poised an in control and that’s what it takes to be successful.”

Spittle’s commitment to never looking ahead was demonstrated after UCI defeated then-No. 1-ranked BYU on March 10 at the Bren Events Center.

“Our crowd rushed the court [after the final point] and how can you not get caught up in that?,” Spittle said. “But I found myself grabbing teammates out of the huddle, saying ‘Let’s go, we still have to play [BYU] tomorrow night.’ ”

Spittle said with just two wins separating UCI from its first trip to the Final Four, a letdown is the last thing he expects.

“It’s not what we’re about and I would never let it happen,” he said. “But the best thing about it is, the guys know that too. I don’t even have to say anything.”

All he needs to do is continue to lead by example.