Arnie’s Army anti-UCI

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s more irony than blasphemy, but Arnie’s Army has overrun the Ohio State University campus, upon which sits the Jack Nicklaus Museum that honors the golf legend and one of the most famous former Buckeyes.

The Arnie in question is not longtime Nicklaus rival Arnold Palmer, but Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne men’s volleyball coach Arnie Ball.

Palmer fans were known for years as Arnie’s Army, and they comprised most of the large galleries that used to follow the famed golfer on the course.

This edition of Arnie’s Army is made up of fervent Mastodon rooters, who will attempt to cheer No. 4-seeded IPFW (23-7) to an upset of No. 2-seeded UC Irvine (28-5) in the final of the NCAA Championship, today at 4 p.m. at Ohio State’s St. John Arena. The match will be televised by ESPN2.

The rooters, mostly students, wear blue, gray and white camouflage T-shirts with Arnie’s Army stenciled in white on the front. They were, arguably, the most vocal supporters of any of the four schools in Thursday’s semifinals, when their Mastodons upset top-seeded Pepperdine, 27-30, 30-27, 30-27, 30-25, to earn the school’s first trip to the final in six Final Four appearances.

“Tons of fans came and they give us such great support,” IPFW junior outside hitter C.J. Macias said. “They’re the backbone of this team and we wanted to do it for them.”

With just a three-hour drive from Fort Wayne, UC Irvine Coach John Speraw predicted there would be significantly more of Arnie’s Army at the title match.

“It may be a little like their home court,” Speraw said.

MACIAS, NEARLY AT UCI

Macias, a 6-foot-4 second-team All-American whose 506 kills this season rank second only to Pepperdine first-team All-American Paul Carroll (605) among players in the Final Four, said UCI was second on his list, when he elected to go to IPFW.

“[Going to UCI] just didn’t work out, financially,” Macias said after his team’s surprising semifinal win. “Things worked out for the best, because I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else but IPFW. But I do miss the ocean.”

A NICE SURPRISE

Ball, in his 27th season at the school, opened his post-match press conference after beating Pepperdine by saying his first order of business was canceling his Friday tee time at a local golf course. Having lost in the semifinals in each of his previous five Final Four trips, he had been used to spending the day after on the links.

Ball said the novelty of a final appearance struck him at the end of the semifinal.

“When the last point was scored, I just stood there and kind of looked around and thought ‘We won. We won.’ It was like, I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do, other than just say ‘We won.’ ”

At Friday’s pre-final press gathering, Ball said the response to the Mastodons making the final from the university community has been tremendous.

“I think I could run for mayor and win without having to spend any money campaigning,” Ball said of his popularity in Fort Wayne.

A SCOUT’S TAKE

Penn State Coach Mark Pavlik is very familiar with both teams, having played them twice this season. The Nittany Lions were swept at IPFW Jan. 13, then defeated the Mastodons in five games March 24.

UCI defeated Penn State in four games, the first time March 14 at Crawford Court.

So, he is uniquely qualified to size up today’s final.

“We’ve seen Irvine six times in the last 18 months, so I might petition the MPSF for membership on that schedule alone,” Pavlik said. “It’s going to be really interesting, because IPFW’s offense is really high. [Macias] gets up and he has that great arm, and [6-6 junior outside hitter Brock Ullrich, who had a career-high 20 kills against Pepperdine] I thought had a fabulous match [Thursday] for them.

“After playing us, where [setter Luke Murray] fires the ball around and we’re pretty quick, it will be interesting to see the adjustments that UCI has to make with its blocking. [The Anteaters] have got to show a little more patience and fight the urge to reach a little bit.

“I think a real key to the matchup will be how [UCI sophomore libero Brent] Asuka plays. If Asuka can dig some of these balls that come high and over the block, then [senior setter Brian] Thornton is going to transition well. I think it’s going to be a pretty good match.

“Arnie’s going to have his guys ready and [Speraw] is going to have his guys ready. This is where [the ‘Eaters] want to be. John and his guys have been thinking about this for a year. And Arnie has had about 65 years of his life to think about this. So, I think it’s going to be a knockdown, drag-out [today].”

IN RARE COMPANY

A UCI victory would make Speraw the third person to win an NCAA men’s volleyball crown as a player and a coach. Speraw won titles at UCLA as a player in 1995 (a starter) and 1993 (a reserve).

The other two to have won titles as a player and a coach, Bob Yoder at USC and Rod Wilde at Pepperdine, both accomplished the feat at their alma maters.

Bob Yoder’s son, Cory Yoder, is, incidentally, a redshirt freshman for the Anteaters.

CREDITS INCLUDE HAWKS

John Hawks, an assistant coach for UCI from 2003-06, who is now an assistant at USC, is in Columbus, acting as technical advisor on the ESPN broadcasts.

EVANS IN THE HOUSE

Among the estimated 300 UCI rooters on hand Thursday to cheer on the Anteaters was Brad Evans. Evans starred for the UCI men’s soccer team the last four years and is now a rookie forward with the Columbus Crew of the MLS.

Evans will miss today’s title match, since he is with the Crew, who play at the Kansas City Wizards today.