Weishoff’s ways pay off

IRVINE — On the court there’s plenty of movement, energy displayed from the UC Irvine women’s volleyball team. Along the sideline, the Anteaters’ coach is calm, stoic even, hardly showing emotion.

Paula Weishoff, UCI’s first-year coach, never really sits during the match. Her eyes fix on the action, as if she’s calculating the next move, perhaps a new strategy. Through the Anteaters’ first six matches, she’s pressing all the right buttons and injecting more confidence into the women’s volleyball program.

That could be seen in UCI’s 25-21, 25-21, 25-8 sweep of University of Maryland-Baltimore County in the UCI Classic at Crawford Court Saturday.

UCI, ranked No. 22, improved to 6-0. The Anteaters were methodical then dominant in the final set against the Retrievers. This is a different UCI team than in years past, they believe. They had not been ranked in the nation’s top 25 since 1988. They opened the season with a win against UC Berkeley, then ranked No. 6, the highest-ranked opponent ever to fall to an Anteaters’ team.

With one more win, UCI will match the Anteaters best start in history, 7-0 in 1981. They’ll next play at Weishoff’s alma mater, USC, Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Weishoff actually cracked a bit of grin after being reminded of the ’Eaters’ undefeated start.

“I knew that we could be a pretty good team, but I had no idea where we would be,” said Weishoff, who was named the NAIA Coach of the Year last season at Concordia. “So, 6-0, I’m ecstatic.”

The reasons for the hot start? That could be explained easily by Weishoff. With simplicity, just matter of fact. It’s almost like her coaching style.

“I think this is a very competitive group and a very hard-working group,” said Weishoff, a three-time Olympian who was part of three NCAA championship teams as a player and assistant coach at USC. “They’ve been making the changes we asked to make. We have to make sure everyone stays healthy and keep working hard. I think the [Big West Conference] will be tougher this year.”

If the Big West will be a challenge, the Anteaters seemed poised to meet it led by outside hitters Julianne Piggott and Kari Pestolesi.

Piggott, a junior transfer from UCLA and a former Corona del Mar High standout, led the Anteaters with nine kills. Pestolesi, a junior, added 11 kills, 18 digs and five service aces. Taryn Robertson contributed 30 assists and three kills.

Piggott and Pestolesi aren’t totally surprised about UCI’s start. They both believed things would be different with Weishoff, who took over Charlie Brande after he reportedly stepped down to spend more time with his family.

The hiring of Weishoff was a reason Piggott transferred to UCI, she said.

“I had high hopes for this team especially with Paula as coach,” said Piggott, who also considered transferring to Pepperdine, Santa Barbara and Miami, after wanting to leave the Bruins’ program. “We do have high expectations. We set goals for ourselves that we want to be up there with the best teams.”

Pestolesi also makes the Anteaters look like they belong. She served for 10 straight points in the third set, collecting four aces. She hits hard and plays smart, but she said her serving had been lacking recently. That is until she found some rhythm against the Retrievers (2-3).

“I just kept getting after it,” she said. “I just had to stop thinking for a minute and then go back to the serve.”

The Anteaters also hope to keep getting after it.