COLLEGES:Reinholm fitting in with UCI

Though many challenges await, including back-to-back matches Friday and Saturday against visiting Hawaii, the UC Irvine men’s volleyball team already appears to have answered two concerns about the 2007 season.

Coming off an NCAA semifinal appearance and the program’s first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title last season, during which it was ranked No. 1 for eight weeks, UCI proved the No. 1 preseason ranking was justified by sweeping three ranked opponents to win the Elephant Bar Invitational, completed Saturday at UC Santa Barbara.

Coach John Speraw’s squad, which boasts four All-Americans, including the reigning NCAA Player of the Year in Jayson Jablonsky, also appears to have found a strong addition to its lineup.

Cole Reinholm, a 6-foot-4 freshman out of Thousand Oaks High, produced 28 combined kills in three matches in Santa Barbara, including 14 in the Friday opener against Stanford. He hit .545 against the Cardinal.

Stepping in for Paul Spittle (lost to graduation) at outside hitter, Reinholm is hitting an impressive .475 with 40 kills in 59 total attack attempts, spanning four matches.

Jablonsky, an all-tournament performer at UCSB, has 58 kills in 115 attempts (.322), while Webber, another all-tournament honoree who was second-team All-American as a junior last year, has 60 kills in 116 attempts (.310).

With veteran middle blockers David Smith (hitting .500 with 32 kills) and Aaron Harrell (hitting .508 with 32 kills) among the Anteaters’ arsenal, senior setter Brian Thornton, a returning All-American who led the nation with 13.7 assists per game last season, is averaging 15.5 thus far.

Presho, out of Edison High, was twice an All-American in four seasons at Hawaii, where he amassed 1,582 career kills, No. 2 on the school’s all-time list.

They are the first two of nine men’s volleyball matches at the 5,000-seat Bren Center this season, an advent long sought by Speraw.

UCI has played the majority of its home matches at Crawford Court, which holds just more than 800.

Speraw, in his fifth season, believes the Bren Center provides a better opportunity to both draw larger crowds and replicate a championship-match atmosphere.

The Anteaters’ career leader in goals (31) concluded work Monday in the three-day Major League Soccer player combine in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Evans is UCI’s first invitee to the MLS combine, which leads up to Friday’s MLS SuperDraft, based in Indianapolis, Ind.

Evans figures to be the second UCI player ever selected in the MLS draft.

While officials debated which Mustang would shoot free throws late in the game, Murphy began shouting toward Cal Poly Coach Kevin Bromley.

Murphy was quickly reined in by UCI Coach Pat Douglass and Murphy returned to his seat without incident.

But whatever point Murphy wanted to make was likely later relayed to Bromley, since Tim Murphy, Tod’s brother, is a Cal Poly assistant.