Bruins Win 18th NCAA Men's Volleyball Title

May 15, 2000


UCLA Volleyball Quick Facts
Final Team Record: 29-5

Recent Results at NCAA Tournament

May 5UCLA d. Penn State, 3-0 (semifinals)
May 6UCLA d. Ohio State, 3-0 (championship)


2000 Team Accomplishments:
2000 Wyndham Gardens West Coast Challenge Tournament Champions
2000 Outrigger Hotels Invitational Champions
2000 MPSF Tournament Champions
2000 NCAA Champions

2000 UCLA Honorees:

#1Seth Burnham, Senior
2000 NCAA All-Tournament Team
2000 Outrigger Hotels Invitational All-Tournament Team
#3Brandon Taliaferro, Senior
2000 1st Team All-MPSF
2000 1st Team AVCA All-America
2000 NCAA All-Tournament Team
(Most Outstanding Player)
Two-time AVCA National Player of the Week (Mar. 6 and May 1)
Two-time MPSF Player of the Week
(Jan. 31 and May 1)
2000 Outrigger Hotels Invitational MVP
#4Matt Davis, Senior
2000 1st Team All-MPSF (Libero)
#5Mark Williams, Junior
2000 3rd Team All-MPSF
2000 Outrigger Hotels Invitational All-Tournament Team
#9Evan Thatcher, Senior
2000 NCAA All-Tournament Team
#14Scott Morrow, Freshman
2000 3rd Team All-MPSF

The 2000 NCAA Championships -- The Bruins entered the tournament as the top-seeded team. They swept fourth-seeded Penn State, 15-11, 15-8, 15-10 in the semifinals on May 4 and swept third-seeded Ohio State, 15-8, 15-10, 17-15 in the finals to win an unprecedented 18th NCAA men's volleyball championship.

UCLA's NCAA Championship History -- UCLA now owns 18 NCAA championships in men's volleyball. The Bruins also boast a record of 48-5 (.905) in NCAA post-season matches. In the current four-team format, the Bruins are 19-0 in NCAA semifinal matches and 30-1 in all semifinals and round-robin matches. In championship matches, the Bruins are now 18-4.

Against the field in NCAA post-season play, the Bruins raised their records to:

  • 5-1 vs. Penn State (2-1 in the finals and 3-0 in the semifinals).
  • 7-0 vs. Ohio State (6-0 in the semifinals and 1-0 in the finals).

Recapping the Matches -- Against Penn State in the semifinals, the Bruins jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first game before the Nittany Lions rallied to 12-11. The Bruins scored the next three points when the Lions committed three straight hitting errors.

In Game 2, the Bruins broke a 7-7 tie on four PSU hitting errors and an ace by senior setter Brandon Taliaferro and a kill by senior opposite Evan Thatcher.

The Bruins held an 8-1 lead in Game 3, and PSU never came closer than four points. Junior outside hitter Mark Williams served three aces and added four kills in the final game. Thatcher led the Bruins with 16 kills (.464), 10 digs and three blocks, followed by Williams with 12 kills (.348), six digs and three aces. As a team the Bruins out-hit the Nittany Lions, .393-.277, out-dug them, 32-25, out-blocked them, 10.5-7.5, and out-aced them, 8-6.

In the championship match, UCLA played its best match of the season, beating Ohio State in every facet of the game. In Game 1, after sprinting to a 5-0 lead, the Bruins watched the Buckeyes score three straight points on kills by Pieter Olree and Jose Rivera and a block by Renee Esteves and Chris Fash. The Bruins scored two more points, but the Buckeyes battled back to 6-5. UCLA broke away when Williams served four straight points, including an ace, on kills by Taliaferro and sophomore Matt Komer. Williams served another ace for 13-6 and the Bruins scored the final two points on an OSU hitting error and a kill by Taliaferro.

In Game 2, the Bruins took a 4-1 lead before the Buckeyes closed to 5-4 on Komer's hitting error. A kill by Olree cut the Bruins lead to 6-5, before freshman Scott Morrow got a kill and Olree hit one long. A block by Morrow and an ace by Burnham gave the Bruins an 11-7 lead before an OSU timeout. Kills by Taliaferro and Morrow gave the Bruins a 13-7 lead, but OSU rallied to 13-10 on a kill by Rivera, a block by Colin McMillan and a hitting error by Burnham. After a kill by Burnham gave the Bruins a side-out, Thatcher and Williams sealed the victory with consecutive kills.

The Bruins held a 7-3 lead in Game 3 before the Buckeyes stormed back to take their first lead of the match at 8-7. Olree had three kills in the scoring run and an attack error by Burnham gave OSU a 9-7 lead before the Bruins closed to 9-8 on a block by Morrow and Thatcher. But Ohio State ran off four more points to take a 13-8 lead on three UCLA hitting errors and a kill by Olree. At this point Coach Al Scates substituted senior Ed Ratledge to serve in place of Morrow. Ratledge served two points, including an ace, and the Bruins trailed,13-10. After a pair of side-outs, Taliaferro came to the service line. Olree committed a hitting error to make it 13-11 and OSU called timeout. Taliaferro served an ace. His next serve led to a kill by Thatcher and the score was tied 13-13. After four side-outs, Burnham came to the line and Thatcher slammed another kill to make it 14-13 Bruins. The Buckeyes got two points to move ahead, 15-14. But the Bruins tied it when Komer and Burnham blocked Olree. Taliaferro served another ace to give the Bruins a 16-15 lead, and after two side-outs, Williams pounded home the winning kill off a cross-court set from Thatcher.

Thatcher, who led the Bruins with 25 kills, Burnham and Taliaferro were named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. Taliaferro was named Most Outstanding Player.

UCLA Head Coach Al Scates -- He finished his 38th campaign with an overall record of 995-157 (.863). Scates has won 20 national championships in five decades, including a single sport record of 18 NCAA titles. His career coaching record leads all NCAA volleyball coaches in every division of both genders. He is the only volleyball coach to have guided three teams to undefeated records (1979, 1982 and 1984) and four teams to four consecutive NCAA titles (1981-84). In 1998, Scates captured a rare trifecta: earning the AVCA, U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Volleyball Coach of the Year honors. In addition, he has coached 48 different All-Americans and 13 Olympians. Fourteen of his players have been named the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player and seven have earned Player of the Year honors.

Player Notes -- Against BYU (3/1), senior Seth Burnham recorded a career high of 21 kills and 10 blocks. His career high of 12 blocks was recorded vs. LBS (1/7). Against LMU (4/27), he recorded 10 blocks, 14 kills and an ace. He recorded nine blocks vs. Stanford (1/22), UCI (2/26) and Hawaii (3/18). His block of Costas Theocharidis at match point against UH (1/28) sealed the victory. He finished the season ranked 12th nationally in blocking (1.58). He earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Outrigger Hotels Invitational and NCAA All-Tournament Team acclaim.

  • Senior All-America setter Brandon Taliaferro was named an AVCA First Team All-American on Apr. 25 for the third straight season. He also was voted to the All-MPSF First Team for the third straight year, becoming the 18th player in league history and the fifth UCLA player to earn all-conference honors four straight years. He earned AVCA National Player of the Week on March 6 after leading the Bruins to victories over BYU and Lewis. In the MPSF Championship against Pepperdine, he recorded 10 kills, an ace, 11 digs, 69 set assists and six blocks. He was named MPSF Player of the Week and AVCA National Player of the Week (May 1) following the conference tournament.
  • He became the Bruins career set assists leader with 78 against Stanford. Taliaferro finished his career with 6,840 career set assists after recording 118 in the NCAA Tournament. He ranks second on the AVCA all-time assists chart. He finished the season ranked in a tie for seventh nationally (18.09) and he finished the conference season ranked seventh (18.73).
  • Taliaferro is UCLA's career ace leader with 176. He finished the season ranked third nationally (.559) in ace average. Against Hawaii (3/18) he served all five of UCLA's aces and served seven straight points to finish Game 3. He ended his career ranked fifth all-time in the AVCA record books in total aces. His 59 aces this season was a career high and ranked second on the UCLA single season charts.
  • Taliaferro matched a career high with 12 kills in the victory over Hawaii (1/28). He also added 12 digs and six blocks in that match while earning Outrigger Hotels MVP honors and MPSF Player of the Week acclaim (1/31). He ended the season ranked in a tie for 18th nationally in hitting (.422). He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament, the 14th UCLA player to receive the honor.
  • Taliaferro finished the season as UCLA's career digs leader with 831. His season high for digs is 16 set against USC Feb. 4. He recorded 16 double-digit dig matches in the 27 matches in which he played. He finished the season ranked 11th nationally (2.63) and seventh in league (2.59). His 256 digs this season ranks fourth on the UCLA single season digs charts.
  • Senior Matt Davis, who earned First-Team All-MPSF honors at Libero, ended his season as UCLA's single season digs leader with 364. He posted a career-high of 22 digs vs. BYU (3/1). He also recorded 20 digs vs. Pepperdine (2/10). He now has three career matches with 20 or more digs. He also recorded 18 vs. CS Northridge (2/17), 16 vs. Hawaii (3/17), 15 vs. BYU (3/2), UCSB (3/8) and Hawaii (3/18), 14 vs. IPFW (1/27) and 13 vs. USC (2/10). Overall, he has 18 double-digit dig matches this season. Davis' two biggest digs of the season came at match point against Hawaii (1/28), when he dug UH outside hitter Clay Stanley twice in the same rally of Game 5 before the Bruins got a key block to tie the score. He finished the season ranked third nationally in dig average (3.04) and finished the league season ranked first (3.15).
  • Junior Mark Williams aced USC and BYU (4/22) six times, tying the school record. For the season he led the Bruins with 63 aces, a single season school record. His 113 career aces ranks fourth on UCLA's career aces chart. He finished the season ranked ninth nationally (.479) and finished the league season ranked in a tie for seventh (.400). He was voted to the All-MPSF Third Team.
  • Against UCSB (2/19), he spiked a career high of 29 kills in 48 attempts. He also added 22 against UCSB (3/8) and 21 against UC Irvine (2/26). In the first round playoff match against BYU, he spiked 17 kills for a percentage of .519. He spiked the winning kill in the NCAA championship match against Ohio State.
  • Senior Evan Thatcher pounded his 1,000th career kill vs. BYU (4/22). He finished his career with 1,083 kills, sixth on the all-time UCLA list. His 26 kills vs. BYU in the playoffs was a season high. He spiked 25 in the NCAA championship match vs. Ohio State, 24 vs. Long Beach State (1/7), 23 vs. Stanford (1/22) and has hit for 21 kills five times. In the NCAA Tournament, Thatcher spiked 41 kills ((6.8kpg) in 75 swings (.466) with 14 digs (2.3dpg) and six blocks (1.0bpg). He earned NCAA All-Tournament Team honors.
  • Freshman Scott Morrow earned All-MPSF Third Team honors in his first season as a starter. He pounded a career high of 20 kills (.720) against LMU (4/5). He spiked 18 kills vs. SDSU (2/16) and 17 kills (.727) against Stanford. He added 16 kills (.625) and 10 total blocks vs. Hawaii (1/28). He has seven other double-digit block matches this season: career high 12 vs. Pepperdine (4/8), 11 vs. UOP (1/21), BYU (3/2) and UH (3/17), and 10 vs. Long Beach State (1/7), LMU (4/27) and Pepperdine (4/29). Against Pepperdine (2/10) he blocked nine balls, including a career best four solos. In the MPSF Championship against the Waves, he recorded 10 kills (.471) and nine blocks. In the NCAA Tournament, he recorded eight kills (.400) and two blocks vs. Penn State and slammed 12 kills (.625) and blocked five balls vs. Ohio State. In blocking, he ranked third nationally (1.94) and finished the league season ranked third (2.05). In hitting percentage, he ranked in a tie for 18th nationally (.422) and finished seventh in league (.449).
  • Freshman Rich Nelson started five matches from Feb. 11-26, and led the Bruins to a record of 4-1. He also set the Bruins in Games 3, 4 and 5 of the Long Beach State (1/7) victory as well as their wins against UOP (1/8) and UC Irvine (1/8). Overall, his record as a starter was 6-1 and the Bruins were 7-1 in matches in which he recorded at least one assist. He recorded a career high of 102 set assists in the loss to CS Northridge. In 30 games, he averaged 16.7 assists per game and 1.3 digs per game.
  • Freshman Cameron Mount has recorded eight double-digit kill matches this season, but played a key role against LMU in the MPSF semifinals. He came off the bench in Game 4 and spiked seven kills with no errors in eight attempts (.875), added two digs and two blocks to spark the Bruins. He led the Bruins with 22 kills (.633) vs. CS Northridge (3/31), added five digs, four blocks and two aces. He also recorded his career high of 23 kills (.486) and nine digs and added three blocks vs. Penn State (1/26). Against the Nittany Lions in the NCAA semifinals, he came off the bench and pounded nine kills (.429) and added two blocks. He recorded a career high of six blocks vs. Hawaii (3/18).
  • Freshman Greg Coon started two matches against Hawaii and had a streak of six straight starts, beginning with the Lewis match. Against BYU (3/2), he came in for senior Seth Burnham and recorded 10 kills and seven blocks. In his first career start against Lewis he responded with 17 kills (.615) and nine blocks, both career highs. He matched his career best of nine blocks against Ball State. He came off the bench against CS Northridge (3/31) and contributed four kills, four blocks and one ace. Against Pepperdine (4/29), he recorded a kill, an ace and two blocks in relief of Seth Burnham. He averaged 1.44bpg .
  • Senior Ed Ratledge hammered a career high of 46 kills in a 3-1 loss to CS Northridge (2/17). In addition, he spiked 43 kills (.508) against Hawaii, 34 against BYU (3/1) and 33 against UCSB (2/19). He also broke his own school record by connecting on 21 kills in Game 4 against Northridge. He led the Bruins with an average of 4.8kpg. He also served the final two points against BYU (4/22). Against LMU (4/27), he came off the bench and slammed 11 kills, including eight in Game 4 plus an ace. He led the Bruins with 27 kills (.380) off the bench against Pepperdine in the MPSF Championship and also added nine digs and a career high of seven blocks. In the NCAA championship match, he served two points, including an ace, to begin the Bruins match-winning rally from a 13-8 deficit in Game 3. He finished the conference season ranked 10th in kills per game at 5.66.
  • Sophomore Matt Komer, who battled a back injury during the Fall, worked his way into the lineup against BYU. In the match on March 1, he spiked 14 kills and added four blocks in the four-game victory. In the March 2 contest, he led the Bruins with 23 kills, a career high, and 10 digs, another career best, to go along with three blocks in his first career start. He recorded 18 kills, seven digs and five blocks against Pepperdine (4/8). Against UC Irvine (2/26) he slammed 16 kills (.393) and recorded eight digs and five blocks, and against UCSB (2/19), he contributed 14 kills (.300) with 10 digs and four blocks, including a career best two solos. Against UCSB (3/8), he spiked 16 kills (.333) to go along with four digs and three blocks. He slammed 11 kills (.292) in a reserve role against BYU (4/22). Against LMU (4/27), he was the Bruins kill leader with 15 and also added a career high of six blocks. He recorded 11 kills (.333), seven digs, two aces (career high) and three blocks against Pepperdine (4/29). He started both NCAA Tournament matches and spiked 13 kills (.417) against Ohio State with seven digs and six blocks.

The 2000 Season -- (See above for NCAA Tournament recap.)

  • On Apr. 30, the Bruins earned their 22nd berth into the NCAA Championships by defeating Pepperdine, 3-1, for the MPSF Tournament Championship.
  • On Apr. 27, the Bruins outlasted upstart Loyola Marymount, 3-1, to advance to the MPSF Tournament Championship against second-seeded Pepperdine.
  • On Apr. 22, the Bruins swept defending conference and NCAA champion BYU in the MPSF quarterfinals before 1,018 fans in Pauley Pavilion.
  • On Apr. 14, the Bruins defeated UC Irvine, 3-0, in Pauley Pavilion to win their final regular season match and secure the No. 4 seed in the MPSF Tournament.
  • On Apr. 8, the Bruins defeated Pepperdine, 3-1, in Pauley Pavilion to avenge an earlier five-game loss to the Waves in Malibu.
  • On April 5, the Bruins suffered their first loss ever to Loyola Marymount, a four-game setback in Pauley Pavilion. The loss snapped UCLA's 11-match winning streak and its 59-match winning streak against LMU.
  • Following spring recess, the Bruins returned to action on Mar. 31 and defeated Cal State Northridge, 3-1, on the road to extend their winning streak to 11 matches.
  • On Mar. 17 and 18, the Bruins extended their winning streak to 10 matches with a pair of four-game victories over Hawaii on the road.
  • For the week of Mar. 6, the Bruins swept matches against UC Santa Barbara (Mar. 8), Ball State (Mar. 10) and Concordia of New York (Mar. 11).
  • During the week of Feb. 28, the Bruins won three four-game matches over top 10 ranked teams, defeating BYU, Mar. 1 & 2, and beating Lewis on Mar. 4. The BYU victories enabled the Bruins to overtake the Cougars for second place in the MPSF Mountain Division race.
  • On Feb. 26, the Bruins beat UC Irvine, 3-1, on the road.
  • The Bruins won two of three home league contests during the week of Feb. 14, beating San Diego State, 3-0, on Feb. 16, losing to CS Northridge, 3-1, on Feb. 17 and defeating UC Santa Barbara, 3-2, on Feb. 19.
  • For the week of Feb. 7, the Bruins split a pair of league matches, losing, 3-2, at Pepperdine on Feb. 10 and sweeping UC San Diego at home on Feb. 11.
  • The Bruins suffered their first loss of the season, a 3-2 defeat in Pauley Pavilion to arch-rival USC on Feb. 4. They defeated Loyola-Marymount, 3-0 on Feb. 2 at Gersten Pavilion.
  • UCLA won its third straight Outrigger Hotels Invitational by beating No. 10 Penn State (3-1, Jan.26), No. 6 IPFW (3-1, Jan. 27) and No. 8 Hawaii (3-2, Jan. 28). Senior All-America setter Brandon Taliaferro was named MVP at the Outrigger Invitational.
  • The Bruins began the season by upsetting preseason, top-ranked Long Beach State, 3-2, on Jan. 7. The Bruins also swept matches against the University of the Pacific and UC Irvine on Jan. 8 to capture the Wyndham Gardens West Coast Challenge title.


NCAA Men's Volleyball Records Continued or Broken

NCAA Championships
Titles Won, Single Sport: 18, Al Scates, Men's Volleyball, (1970-present)

NCAA Post-Season Record
Best Record: 48-5 (.902), Al Scates (1970-present)

Victories
Victories, Career: 995, Al Scates (1963-present)

Record in NCAA Finals
Best NCAA Finals Record: 18-4

Appearances
Most NCAA Appearances: 22, UCLA

Aces
Most Aces, NCAA Tournament: 16, UCLA, 2000


Individual, Career
Career Aces: 176*, Brandon Taliaferro (1997-00)
Career Digs, 831, Brandon Taliaferro (1997-00)
Career Set Assists: 6,840**, Brandon Taliaferro (1997-00)

Individual, Single Season
Single Season Digs: 364, Matt Davis, 2000
Single Season Aces: 63, Mark Williams, 2000

Individual, Match
Aces: 6, Mark Williams (UCLA vs. BYU, 4/22), tied with several other players

Individual, Single Game
Single Game Kills: 21, Ed Ratledge (UCLA vs. CS Northridge, (2/17/00)

*ranks fourth all-time in the AVCA record books. **ranks second all-time in the AVCA record books.