UCI alumni help U.S. win

IRVINE — When David Smith and Jayson Jablonksy played for UC Irvine they learned about the game of volleyball from a man named John Speraw.

Two years after leaving the UCI program they still give props to Speraw, the Anteaters’ coach, for what they earn from the game. It would have been easy to talk about the successful and impressive execution from the U.S. men’s national team here, but the Americans had it so easy the two former UCI players had time to reminisce.

They had time to soak it in, playing back in their old gym, the Bren Events Center, where they helped Team USA record its third straight sweep Monday night to advance to the 2010 World Championships in Italy. With its 25-16, 25-19, 25-15 victory against Dominican Republic, the U.S. men went 3-0 in the 2010 World Championship Qualifier.

The U.S. team also included former Corona del Mar High standout Kevin Hansen, but he did not play Monday, as a backup to setter Donald Suxho.

Smith and Jablonsky played plenty.

“When I was done with high school, I thought that was it for volleyball,” said Smith, who had three blocks Monday and was named Best Blocker of the world qualifier. “John Speraw came and recruited me. He just did a great job of developing me.”

When Smith finished playing at Saugus High he received only two scholarship offers, the other being from Pepperdine. He wears hearing aids because he’s severely hearing impaired, but that wasn’t why he was so under-the-radar out of high school. As a middle blocker, he needed more experience and he found that at UCI, where he and Jablonsky helped put UCI on the college volleyball map.

The two were highly instrumental in leading the Anteaters to win their first NCAA championship in 2007.

Smith was a first-team All-American that year, Jablonsky, the 2006 NCAA Player of the Year, was an All-American second-teamer for the UCI championship team.

“I learned a lot from Speraw,” said Jablonsky, who had four points. “He’s a great coach. It’s really easy to step up when you have a coach like that. So he is already at that level. That was amazing to have him as a coach. I feel I like stepped in [now] already knowing a little bit more in terms of what I need to do to be great at this level.”

Speraw wasn’t at the match Monday. But he knows plenty about the U.S. men’s team. He was as an assistant on the coaching staff of the squad that won the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

The team’s roster is different now, but the Americans still knew they were favored to win and sweep Guatemala, Panama and Dominican Republic.

Just ask Evan Patak.

“I’m not going to be around the bush, that’s what we were expecting,” Patak said of sweeping the three teams in the world qualifier. “We knew we had control of the outcome of the matches. We know we can play at a high level and execute at a high level. We did that for the most part and that’s how it turned out.

“No big surprise. We’re happy with the result.”

Smith and Jablonsky were also happy.