Stanford, UCLA Matched in Final

COLUMBUS, Ohio —  Be careful what you wish for, Andy Witt.

After Stanford beat Ball State in a semifinal of the NCAA volleyball championships Thursday, Witt was asked if he had a preference of who won the other semifinal.

“One of the reasons I came to Stanford was to beat UCLA in the finals of the NCAA championship game,” Witt said.

He is halfway to his wish.

The toughest part will be playing UCLA tonight for the championship at Ohio State’s St. John Arena.

Two-time defending champion UCLA (24-4) is led by first-team All-American Paul Nihipali, freshmen Taliaferro and 6-foot-10 Adam Naeve. Both freshmen were named second-team All-Americans.

Top-seeded Stanford (26-3) is led by two seniors, first-team All-American Matt Fuerbringer and second-team All-American Mike Lambert.

Stanford shocked UCLA last week in the finals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament, beating the Bruins in three games and thus making them the NCAA’s third-seeded team.

A UCLA victory would be Coach Al Scates’ 17th national title, giving him more than any other coach in any NCAA sport. His 16 championships tie him with Houston men’s golf Coach Dave Williams.

It is Stanford’s third appearance in the finals.