L.A. UNIVERSITY BEAT / WENDY WITHERSPOON : Long Beach Awaits Hilliard’s Wake-Up Call

Brent Hilliard spent his summer matching his skills against the best volleyball players in the world.

After such an experience, the collegiate preseason has been making him yawn.

Hilliard returns to Cal State Long Beach for his senior season after a summer during which he helped the U.S. Olympic team to the bronze medal in Barcelona.

Long Beach will begin its season in the Kilgour Cup tournament at UCLA on Friday night. Physically Hilliard will be there. Mentally, well, that’s debatable.

“It’s hard . . . to keep really motivated when you (have played) with (Steve) Timmons and the rest of them,” said Ray Ratelle, Long Beach coach. “He’s trying, but there’s just that little something, you know. It’s tough to be motivated every day.”

Hilliard played behind Timmons at outside hitter on the national team. Whenever Timmons sat, Hilliard came out strong.

It has been difficult for Hilliard to maintain the same intensity for Long Beach.

“It’s been hard, just during this off-season, during vacation, when you have to grind it, day in and day out,” Hilliard said.

Fred Sturm, U.S. national team coach, has seen this before.

“When the (novelty) of an activity, whether it’s NCAA men’s volleyball or playing on the national team or playing on the Olympic team, wears off, then you have to find other ways to make yourself play well,” Sturm said. “That’s just part of the development process of a player, and it’s temporary.”

Also, Hilliard has had to adjust to a virtually new starting lineup at Long Beach. Gone are three senior starters from last season, including Alan Knipe and Matt Lyles, who were 1992 first team All-American selections.

“I think once the season rolls around and we’re actually playing games, I think I’ll be ready for that, without a doubt,” Hilliard said.

Pepperdine returns five starters from last season, when it won the NCAA men’s volleyball championship. Its one loss, however, was an important player.

Alon Grinberg, a passer from Bat-Yam, Israel, was voted the most valuable player at the 1992 NCAA tournament. Grinberg returned to Israel in the spring to be closer to his family after his father had a heart attack.

“(Grinberg) had an obligation to help his family,” said Marv Dunphy, Pepperdine coach. “Some things are more important than volleyball.”

Among Pepperdine’s returning players is Tom Sorenson, who has led the Waves in kills the past three seasons.

The Waves defeated Stanford, 15-10, 4-15, 15-7, 15-9, Saturday in the third-place game of the UC Santa Barbara tournament.

UCLA, which won the UC Santa Barbara tournament with a 15-4, 15-10, 15-7 victory over the Gauchos on Saturday, has been ranked No. 1 in the preseason by two volleyball magazines.

The Bruins return their entire starting lineup from last season, when they finished 17-7.

There are two key differences for this season’s UCLA team: It is stronger and it is inspired.

“Last year, we didn’t really lift (weights) a lot,” said Jeff Nygaard, Volleyball Monthly’s 1992 freshman of the year. “I mean, it was mandatory and all, but we didn’t really do all the work most of the time. But this year, we’re lifting like five days a week, I mean, hard every time. I mean, everyone is really making a great effort this year.”

UCLA is inspired to win a national championship. The Bruins have gone without a national title for the past three years. It is the longest stretch that UCLA Coach Al Scates has gone without winning one in his 31-year Bruin career.

For added incentive, the NCAA Final Four will be held May 7-8 in Pauley Pavilion.

“Tex” has joined “Bull” in the starting lineup for the USC men’s volleyball team.

“Tex” is a nickname for Russel Brock, a freshman outside hitter from Robert E. Lee High in Baytown, Tex.

“Bull” is a nickname for Jason Mulholland, a sophomore swing hitter from Canada who resembles the character Bull Shannon on NBC’s Night Court because of his shaved head and 6-foot-7 frame.

Mulholland, who ranked fifth in the nation with an average of 5.9 kills last season, is one of five returning starters for USC.

The Trojans will be trying to recover from last season’s 11-13 finish, the school’s worst since 1976, before USC began offering scholarships in the sport.

Brad Friedel of the UCLA men’s soccer team had this to say last week about winning the Hermann Trophy, given to the top collegiate soccer player in the country: “I was surprised, excited and honored. I guess those are three pretty good adjectives.”

Friedel will forgo his senior year of eligibility at UCLA and play professionally. He is negotiating with Nottingham Forest of the England and with the United States national team.

Notes

The American Volleyball Coaches Assn. men’s preseason rankings will be released on Tuesday. . . . Open tryouts for the U.S. national men’s volleyball team were held Thursday through Saturday in Balboa Park at San Diego. Among the 33 in attendance were these former collegiate players: Neil Coffman and Raphael Tulino of Cal State Northridge, Karl Henkel of UCLA, Sio Saipaia of Loyola Marymount and Matt Lyles, Alan Knipe and Brett Winslow of Long Beach. Fred Sturm, U.S. national team coach, is expected to announce this week who will be offered positions on the team. Current college players did not attend because their season is in progress.

Open tryouts for the U.S. national women’s team will be held Thursday through Sunday at Colorado Springs. Among the 133 players trying out for spots are: Danielle Bragado of Loyola Marymount, Julie Bremner, Jenny Evans and Marissa Hatchett of UCLA, Nichelle Burton, Alicia Mills, Christine Romero and Danielle Scott of Long Beach, Meika Wagner, Lauri Yust and Marissa McCaw of USC and Nancy Nicholls of Cal State Northridge. . . . Natalie Williams and Elaine Youngs, who led the UCLA women’s volleyball team to the final of the NCAA tournament last month, were not included for this tryout by U.S. national team coach Terry Liskevych and will try out for the team at a later date. Williams plays for the UCLA women’s basketball team.

The 12-team Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. has been replaced this season by the 14-team Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The federation’s Mountain Division replaces WIVA’s DeGroot Division, with the addition of Loyola Marymount. The Pacific Division replaces WIVA’s Wilson Division, with the addition of Pacific and UC San Diego.