[ COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL ]
BYU's Joe Hillman tried to hit past the block of Long Beach State's Scott Touzinsky in Game 2 of last night's NCAA Volleyball National Championship at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Hillman sparks BYU
After a slow start, the Cougars
opposite delivered key kills late
in the NCAA title match
Invisible.
Then huge.
That is the life story of Brigham Young opposite Joe Hillman. The 6-foot-7 southpaw struggled early in the Cougars' 3-2 championship win yesterday but came through in a big way when it counted.
Hillman had as many errors as kills (four) through the first three games and seemed set for a miserable match. But the Las Vegas native was clutch in the final points of Game 5, putting away BYU's pivotal points when the Cougars needed him. Hillman concluded his career hitting .385 with a team-high 14 kills yesterday.
"When we won that game with the extra points (Game 4), I started feeling it and I started telling everyone, 'Are you feeling it? Are you feeling it yet?' " Hillman said.
"The whole time in the fifth game I had a smile on my face knowing that we were going to win that game."
With the Cougars trailing 13-11, BYU setter Carlos Moreno took one look at Hillman's eyes and knew where he needed to set the next ball.
The lefty sliced a kill off a triple block to get the Cougars within a point. Moreno went back to Hillman on the subsequent point with no one up and it was the same result. Kill and a tie game at 13.
"I really look at my hitters' eyes to see if they want the ball," Moreno said. "He wanted the ball. ... When he's in a flow, he does magic things. At that moment I felt that he had the flow, he had the confidence to put the ball away."
BYU coach Tom Peterson agreed.
"Joe was part of the magic tonight," Peterson said. "He just had confidence. He had to have confidence in himself to do well.
"I saw him smiling and I'm yelling at him the last couple of points. He knew something was going to happen. He's a real special guy and it's a shame he had to go through some scrutiny (concerning his eligibility). He's a great guy."
Hillman, who resembles the comic strip character Calvin from "Calvin and Hobbes," has kept a smile on his face even through the twists and turns.
BYU's Carlos Moreno and Fernando Pessoa celebrated with the national championship trophy after beating Long Beach State in five games last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Peterson remembers when Hillman asked him for help a few years ago to find a school to continue his volleyball career. Peterson made several phone calls to coaches within the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, but no one was interested in Hillman, who was the MVP at club nationals for Utah Valley State College. After Peterson took over the BYU program, Hillman approached him again for a shot.
He went unnoticed until he started to contribute for the Cougars, averaging more than three kills a game and hitting better than .300. Part way through BYU's 21-match win streak, Hillman's eligibility became a question.
"It takes him awhile to figure out the (eligibility) rules," Peterson said. "It's not this big secret that everybody made a big deal about. He was NCAA eligible for two years."
Makings of a dynasty: Peterson doesn't like the label, but it's hard to argue with the results.
The Cougars have played for the NCAA championship in four of the last six years and won three NCAA titles (1999, 2001, 2004). And it seemed like they scored points when they absolutely needed it.
"There's so many programs in so many situations," said Peterson, who won a national title on the 10th anniversary of leading Penn State to its only national title in 1994. "I've been fortunate to come to this team that is a fantastic program. (Former BYU coach) Carl McGown made it a great program, so thanks to him.
"We did not have a good evening. It's magic. We've got something that is intangible. I can't tell you exactly why, but it's there."
Long Beach State coach Alan Knipe saw it, too.
"They seemed to get the point they needed," Knipe said. "They're a good volleyball team. They have good athletes, a good setter."
Happy with the host: In spite of the attendance, the NCAA men's volleyball championship committee was pleased with yesterday's turnout (3,108 turnstile, 4,105 tickets).
"This match going to five is what you want for a championship match," said NCAA committee chair Robert Krimmel, who is an athletic director at Penn State. "The two best teams taking it right to the fifth game. The crowd's into it. The atmosphere is great. That's what you wanted -- a positive experience for the student-athlete. I don't think any of the kids are leaving here with anything but a positive experience. The University of Hawaii has done a great job."
Next year's final four will be at UCLA, with the 2006 championship held at Penn State.
