Alberta sweeps ‘Eaters

IRVINE — Not excactly picking up where it left off, eh?

The UC Irvine men’s volleyball team, which claimed the program’s first NCAA championship last season behind four senior All-Americans, dropped its exhibition opener, 31-29, 30-18, 30-28, to visiting University of Alberta Monday in front of 265 at Crawford Court.

UCI’s Taylor Wilson, a 6-foot-7 opposite and one of three returning starters, pounded 15 kills to lead the Anteaters. He also hit .387 in 31 total attacks.

Additionally, 6-8 junior setter Ryan Ammerman, a reserve last season, posted 32 assists and also led the team with two solo blocks. He added three kills, hit .286 and had one of the team’s two service aces, earning praise from Coach John Speraw.

Senior middle blocker Aaron Herrell had four kills in nine atttempts for a .222 percentage and he added three block assists, while fellow returning starter Brent Asuka, a junior libero, had a team-high six digs.

But the Anteaters finished with a .182 team hitting percentage, and generally showed why Speraw believes it will take some time for this team to forge it’s own success.

“Well, I certainly expected us to be rough around the edges and we were,” said Speraw, who noted his team played better against the Golden Bears (9-1 halfway through their season) Monday, than in a 26-24, 25-17, 25-21 loss in fall compeition (Oct. 10 at Alberta).

“They’re the best team in Canada,” Speraw said. They beat us up pretty bad up there. I thought Taylor Wilson had a nice match [Monday]. And it was good to see Ryan Ammerman out there on the court. For a lot of our guys, this was their first time being on the court at home. There were some nerves and we have some rough spots.

“But I think our setter position is good, and we are good with Herrell, Taylor and at libero. We just need to get a little better at the outside hitter position and lock down that other middle spot. If we can do that, we’re going to be a good team. But it’s about being good in April and that’s what I’m going to continue to preach.”

Speraw said this year reminds him of 2005, when the aforementioned crop of 2007 seniors took their lumps, before going on to back-to-back Final Four apperances in 2006 and last year.

“This is so remeniscent for me, in so many ways, of the year when that last group was young and we went 9-20,” Speraw said. “I don’t think this team is that bad. I think we’re more skilled and more experienced. We’re not going to be 9-20, but some of the same issues that we had with that team are apparent now. Specifically: being able to serve in runs of points; having ball control be a key component of our success; and not giving up runs ourselves.

“We gave up some runs today and we can’t let that happen. But we’ll be fine. I think we have the ability and maturity to address those things.”

Joel Schmuland had 15 kills to lead the winners, who hit .323 as a team.

UCI opens its regular season Wednesday against Cal Baptist at 7 p.m. at Crawford Court.

The Anteaters will be without Speraw until Jan. 12 at the earlierst. He is working as an assistant coach for the U.S. men’s national team in an Olympic-qyalifying tournament in Puerto Rico, Saturday through Jan. 13.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.