UCI squad wins NCAA title

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The UC Irvine men’s volleyball program will finally have a banner it deems worthy of display in the Brent Events Center after the Anteaters defeated Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne in four games to win the NCAA championship at Ohio State’s St. John Arena on Saturday.

UCI Coach John Speraw, whose team finished 29-5, setting a school record for single-season victories, had resisted attempts by the athletic department to fly a Final Four banner representing the 2006 season, after UCI lost to Penn State in the NCAA semifinals.

Speraw, who does not display the team trophy from last year’s Final Four in his office and has said he will not acknowledge anything but NCAA titles, became the third person in NCAA men’s volleyball history to win a title as both a player and a coach.

Speraw, the 2006 American Volleyball Coaches Assn. national coach of the year, played for UCLA, which won the NCAA title in 1993 and 1995. He also was an assistant coach for the Bruins when they won NCAA crowns in 1996, 1998 and 2000.

It’s the fourth NCAA Division I championship in any sport for UCI, which captured titles in men’s water polo in 1989, 1982 and 1970.

“I’m OK with the banner now,” said Speraw after his senior-led team clinched the tight, final game. Saturday’s victory capped a momentous postseason run for the Anteaters, ranked No. 2 in the nation behind Pepperdine, which was upset by No. 7-ranked Fort Wayne in the semifinals.

Entering this postseason, UCI had only one win in seven postseason matches.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at [email protected].