Sports Watch
By Bill Kwon
Thursday, April 18, 1996
In the spring, when thoughts turn to the football team practicing to become a winner in the fall, and the baseball team struggling to make the WAC playoffs, the Rainbow men are setting their sights on one goal - the NCAA volleyball championship.
No wonder that in a town hungry for any kind of success by the Rainbows, the fans have gone bananas over the men's volleyball team. The players have become the darlings of the media. Can they become Destiny's Darlings as well?
Everybody's jumping on the volleyball team's bandwagon. But what if the wheels fall off Saturday night in the playoff opener against Pepperdine?
Never happen you say?
Never say never, folks. Just ask Greg Norman.
Until his monumental collapse in the Masters, I was going to say that the Rainbow men not making the Final Four was as improbable as Norman blowing a six-stroke lead on Sunday, let alone losing by five strokes.
After all, the top-ranked Rainbows are 25-1 (not counting two exhibition victories over California) and 19-0 in winning the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
They made it to the Final Four for the first time last season. Now, as far as the fans are concerned, anything less than winning it would be a disappointment.
"TO think of it as all-or-nothing is not wise. I don't know if it's the most healthy attitude to have," says Coach Mike Wilton.
"The main thing is for us not to get caught up with it. We try not to let that be part of our thinking. The more you think about that kind of stuff, the more it can happen."
You listening, Greg?
Like all coaches, Wilton is taking it one game at a time. In fact, he's taking it one day at a time, especially since the game's not until Saturday.
"Today we practice. Tomorrow, the same thing. Saturday, we play," Wilton said.
He's telling his players just to perform the immediate task in front of them and not to worry about the future. Not to worry about what's going to happen.
"We've been that way all year long actually," Wilton said. "Each and every day, one day at a time. We put that statement on our team calendar. That's kind of like our credo."
In back of every fan's mind, though, is the distressing thought that the men might suffer the same kind of fate that befell the equally successful Wahine volleyball team.
The Wahine went 31-0 before losing to Michigan State in the NCAA Northwest Regional final - stumbling one step away from reaching the Final Four.
Would fate be that cruel?
There's no parallel, Wilton says emphatically.
"We're talking different gender. We're talking different players. We're talking different time of the year. We're talking about a totally different game."
And, adds Wilton, no matter how it turns out, nobody - even the fans - will be more disappointed than his players if they don't win it all.
"Nobody wants that national title more than us," Wilton said.
"We would feel very, very disappointed if we don't take the national championship," said Sivan Leoni, the team's colorful sophomore middle blocker.
The Wahine's only defeat last year made Jason Ring recall his unbeaten Pierce (Los Angeles) Junior College team last season because the same thing happened in the playoffs.
Not losing during the regular season hurt, according to Ring. "We know what it's like to drop games. We played UCLA in five, BYU in five. We've struggled to win," said Ring, who feels that if there's any pressure the 'Bows can cope.
All or nothing?
Heck, Naveh Milo loves it. He thinks it's great, putting it on the line that way. "This is why we play," he said.