SPORTSCOPE : UCLA Women’s Volleyball Team to Play New Mexico

The top-ranked UCLA women’s volleyball team (32-1) will play host to No. 14 New Mexico (22-6) in the first match of the NCAA West Regional at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the John Wooden Center. In the second match, No. 3 Stanford (26-3) will meet No. 19 San Diego State (24-11) at 8:30.

The winning teams will play for the regional championship at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the center. The NCAA semifinals will be held on Dec. 13 and the final on Dec. 15 at College Park, Md.

In a first-round playoff game last week, the Bruins beat Gonzaga in three games. In other first-round matches New Mexico defeated Pepperdine in three games, Stanford swept three games from Wyoming and San Diego State beat Brigham Young in four games.

Against Gonzaga, Natalie Williams led UCLA with 13 kills and Jenny Evans added 11 kills and a team-high 10 digs. Williams leads the Bruins with 542 kills and Marissa Hatchett has a team-high 227 blocks.

UCLA has won 47 consecutive home matches. Its last loss at home was to UC Santa Barbara in five games in October of 1987.

UCLA senior flanker Scott Miller and senior free safety Eric Turner shared the Henry R. (Red) Sanders Award for most valuable player on the football team.

Miller, whose 175 receiving yards against USC set a school record, also was named the outstanding senior of the year and the top offensive player against USC.

Turner led the Bruins with 93 tackles and was named to the All-Pacific 10 Conference first team and the Football News’ All-American second team.

Santa Monica College quarterback Jeff Barrett, who set several passing records this season, was named the most valuable offensive player of the Western State Conference Southern Division.

All-division first team selections from SMC besides Barrett were offensive lineman Andre Hewitt, wide receiver Jason Lucky, defensive lineman Mark Cottingham, linebacker Tony Gray and defensive back Dan Robinson.

West Los Angeles College first-team players were running back Cary Tiller, defensive lineman Sam Rogers and defensive back Lester Grice.

Second-team SMC selections were offensive lineman Eric Thomas, tight end Jeff Williamson, wide receiver Turhon O’Bannon, running back John Haqq, kicker Chris Jackson and kick returner Dante Ware.

WLAC second-team players were linebacker Maurice Burton and defensive back Steve McKinnon.

Honorable mention went to the following SMC players: linebacker Joe Hovorka, defensive backs Demetrie Cooley and Paxton Griffin, offensive lineman Chris Taylor, tight end Jermaine O’Bannon and wide receiver Napoleon Banks.

WLAC players who received honorable mention were tight end George Rogers, wide receiver Quinton Winston, quarterback Chris McCloud, defensive lineman Richard Bell, linebacker Troy Lane and defensive back Tylyn Cook.

The UCLA women’s basketball team (2-3) will play host to St. Mary’s (5-0 as the week began) at 7 p.m. Friday at Pauley Pavilion.

The Bruins are coming off a 95-79 victory over Pepperdine. Rehema Stephens scared a career-high 34 points against the Waves. Her previous best was 33, which she had in an 89-75 victory over Notre Dame on Friday night.

The No. 8 UCLA men’s swim team (2-1 in dual meets), which won the Nebraska Sprint Invitational last weekend, will be idle until a Jan. 12 home meet with UC Santa Barbara. The No. 4 Bruin women (4-0) will also compete against Santa Barbara in the same meet.

At the invitational, UCLA scored 1,030 points to 796 for Nebraska and 628 for Iowa.

Bruin Greg Schaffer set an invitational and Nebraska pool record in the 200-meter breaststroke with a 2:00.98 and qualified for the NCAA meet. He also won the 200 individual medley in 1:49.68.

Other UCLA double winners were Chris Dudka in one- and three-meter diving and Terry Harvego with a 4:27.81 in the 500 freestyle and a 15:29.64 in the 1,650 freestyle.

The Pepperdine women’s swim team (3-1) will resume action when it plays host to Loyola Marymount and UC Santa Cruz in a triangular meet at 3 p.m. on Jan. 4.

Last week the Waves were routed by Fresno State, 205-53. Freshman Jennifer Phipps was Pepperdine’s only winner, taking the 50 freestyle in 25.5.

The UCLA men’s golf team, which placed sixth at last week’s Nevada Las Vegas tournament, will next play Jan. 21-22 in the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Tournament at Santa Barbara.

Arizona won the tournament with a 879 total to 917 for the Bruins. UCLA’s Steve Haynes and Kent Wiese tied for 16th place, each with 229, and teammate Dave Solomon tied for 21st at 230.

Shot-putter-discus thrower Mark Parlin of Esperanza High and sprinter Erik Allen of Hawthorne High have signed national letters of intent with UCLA.

Parlin finished second in the shot put at 62-9 in last spring’s state meet, and his personal record in the discus is 175-4. Allen did not compete last spring because of an injury, but his 1989 times of 10.71 in the 100-meter dash and 21.53 in the 200 were the second-best in the nation by a sophomore in 1989.

The St. Joan of Arc School eighth-grade football team won its first Catholic Youth Organization championship on Saturday, defeating St. Finbar of Burbank, 20-18. The team from the West Los Angeles school was coached by Mike Avila.

St. Joan quarterback Mike Villa threw touchdown passes of 35 yards to Johnny Garcia and 15 yards to Gabriel Pagtama and ran six yards for the other touchdown. The deciding two-point conversion was scored on a pass from Mike Avila Jr. to Pagtama.

St. Finbar trailed, 20-12, but scored a touchdown with no time left in the game. But a pass attempt for a two-point conversion was tipped away by Carlos Cortez.