‘Eaters aiming for top

Barry Faulkner

In a season as unexpected as it was unprecedented, a pair of dog

piles are among the most vivid memories of 2003 for UC Irvine men’s

volleyball coach John Speraw.

The first dog pile occurred after UCI’s win over UCLA, in an

early-season tournament contest that helped propel the Anteaters to a

10-0 start and the No. 1 national ranking, both program firsts.

The second, executed by Cal State Northridge players after

upsetting UCI in an early Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match,

came after the No. 1 ranking and helped signal the sudden cachet a

victory over UCI could create.

“The first [dog pile] made me furious, because I don’t believe

that’s how you should act when you win a match in January,” Speraw

recalled. “The second one made me realize how much we had gone from

one extreme to the other.”

It also helped Speraw illustrate to his players that the Anteater

had suddenly become a predator to be feared on the sport’s national

landscape.

“Our guys know, now, we’re never going to walk into a volleyball

match again where people are going to take us lightly,” Speraw, a

former UCLA assistant entering his second season at the UCI helm,

said.

Indeed, last year’s 20-11 record and season-ending No. 5 national

ranking pumped up the reputation of a program previously stuck in the

competitive foothills of the highly competitive MPSF. It also created

lofty expectations for a squad returning five of its top seven

players, including senior outside hitter Jimmy Pelzel, who became the

program’s initial first-team All-American last spring.

“Expectations are higher, yeah, but that’s OK,” said Speraw, who

never discusses the prospect of a national championship with his

players, but admits it may, for the first time, be swirling beyond

their subconscious thoughts.

“As I look at the overall roster, I think we have a lot more

talent in the gym this year,” Speraw said. “I think our returners

understand we want to achieve more than last year’s team. But I’ve

always been a believer that, as a coach, you have to establish fair

expectations. To open the year 10-0 like we did last year would be

unfair expectations, but we want to make the playoffs and go farther

than we did last year (the MPSF tournament semifinals).”

Pelzel, whose 593 kills in 2003 were a school single-season

record, is joined by third-team All-MPSF libero Greg Ford, now a

senior, as well as returning standouts Nic Vislay, Spencer Bemus and

BJ Fell, to provide an experienced, talented nucleus.

But replacing setter David Kniffin, whom Speraw called a catalyst

for last year’s success, as well as outside hitter Monte Tucker, may

define how much this year’s group can improve.

True freshmen Brett Reid (Edison High) and Brian Thornton (San

Clemente High), as well as sophomore Dillon Fitch, are competing to

become Kniffin’s successor.

“Any time you have a true freshman at quarterback, it’s going to

take time for them to develop,” said Speraw, who likes Reid’s

blocking presence at the net, but openly admires Thornton’s

competitive nature.

Speraw also believes Fitch, having spent a year in the program,

could factor into the race, which he rates as wide open.

“It’s anybody’s job,” Speraw said.

The 6-6 Pelzel is everyone’s All-American and will clearly be the

‘Eaters’ go-to hitter.

“He’s a known quantity, who was first-team All-American and spent

the summer with the national team,” Speraw said of Pelzel, who led

UCI with 24 kills in a five-game season-opening triumph Wednesday

over NAIA power Cal Baptist. “He can put the ball away when we need

it and he’s one of the best end blockers in the country.”

Vislay, a 6-4 sophomore whose .411 hitting percentage last season

was a school record, will be joined in the middle by 6-7 senior Kyle

Weichert, who has recovered well from surgery on an injured ankle

that slowed him last season, Speraw said.

Ford’s digging ability will, once again, be counted upon, while

Fell, a 6-4 senior, is the best passer among the team’s outside

hitters, Speraw said.

Bemus, a 6-5 senior, should contribute heavily at outside hitter,

while Speraw believes 6-1 sophomore libero Paul Spittle and 6-5

freshman outside hitter Jayson Jablonsky will also chip in.

Speraw expects an especially challenging campaign in the MPSF,

where he believes several schools have improved from last season.

The Anteaters get an early-season measuring stick in the UC Santa

Barbara tournament, which begins today and continues through

Saturday. They open MPSF play Jan. 16 at the University of the

Pacific.