Friday

February 6, 1998

Men's volleyball club clobbers No. 1 Cal

By Brad Williams
HORNET SPORTS EDITOR

Fans of Sacramento State athletics who are disappointed with the school's lack of victories in recent years are looking in the wrong place. And the solution to their woes is right under their noses, because Sac State already has a national champion.

Last year, the men's volleyball club brought home its second collegiate club national championship in three years.

Wednesday night at Hornet Gym, over 100 spirited fans watched as the second ranked men's volleyball club continued their winning ways by defeating the number one club team in the nation, the Cal Bears of UC Berkeley in four games (9-15, 15-5, 15-10, 15-13).

The Hornets lost the first game but poured it on to win both the second and third.

In the fourth game they broke out to a five-point lead only to fall behind 8-12 when Cal surged back.

CSUS responded by bringing in a third passer. After that, the Hornets never looked back. Opposite hitter Norm Silliman was a key player in the Hornets come-from-behind fourth game victory.

"Norm passed the perfect pass," Club President David Profit said, "then we sided-out the rest of the match and they didn't score any more points."

Another big gun for Sac State was outside hitter Troy Bowman. Bowman said he was "struggling" during the game, but it didn't look that way from the stands. He hacked away at the Bears in chunks with his team high 23 kills.

Bowman gave a lot of credit for the victory to third-year middle blocker Travis Wilson. Wilson, the tallest player on Hornet's roster at 6 feet 6 inches tall, was the dominant force at the net, racking up 12 kills.

"You cannot leave him," Bowman said. "If you leave him you're dead."

It was during a stretch in the fourth game when Wilson sat out that the Bears made a five-point run. But when Wilson returned so did the Hornet offense.

Because of the club's success they are able to recruit quality players like Silliman, Bowman and Wilson. Wilson narrowly missed a spot on the Olympic team, making the next to last cut.

Another remarkable thing about the club's success is that they have achieved national recognition with very little help from the school.

The men's volleyball club isn't in the Big Sky Conference, or in the Big West Conference.

In fact, it isn't even in the NCAA, so the money needed for operating costs, such as traveling expenses, referees and gym fees, either comes out of pocket or through fund raising.

The club stays on its feet through corporate sponsorships, T-shirt sales, the booster club and ASI grants.

Unlike other sporting events at CSUS, men's volleyball does charge an admission fee. The price is extremely reasonable -- $1 for students and children, $2 for adults. This helps to offset the cost of renting the gym, but according to Profit the club often goes in the hole.

Men's volleyball's next game is Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Hornet Gym.

Their opponent is Trinity College, the No. 1 collegiate team from Canada.

Basketball coaches married to game

By Scott Drenik
HORNET SPORTS WRITER

Buried within the cinder block walls of Yosemite Hall are two of the brightest gems in Sacramento State's athletic crown.

The coaching tandem of John and Sue Huffman offer a unique husband and wife perspective in the world of Division I women's basketball. With asbestos tiles underfoot and leaking ceilings overhead the Huffmans continue their 12-year quest to put the CSUS women's basketball team on the NCAA map.

Head coach Sue Huffman, a Sacramento native, played four years of basketball at CSUS. In her senior year she played on the last Sac State team to beat Stanford on its home court.

Sue met John, who is her assistant coach, while shooting hoops in the South Gym. "My friends and I would always get pick-up games with guys because we knew that's how we'd get better," said Sue. "He was a guyŠ a gym rat just like me."

After Sue graduated from CSUS she coached at Victory Christian High School for nine years. She also coached at Bella Vista High School and Sacramento City College before coming back to Sac State as an assistant coach in 1985. She always knew coaching was in her future.

"I never ever thought I would be a Division I head coach," she said. "I always thought I would be a high school P.E. teacher and coach a sport. I just wanted to be there for the kids."

John, who also hails from Sacramento, graduated from Foothill High School and spent three years in the Army before playing basketball for Sac State. Unfortunately, a knee injury in his first season ended his career as a player. After graduation John had ideas about a career in law enforcement.

"I wanted to be a cop. I was a Criminal Justice Major and had a good friend that I was supposed to go in with ... but I didn't go," said John.

John also taught at Victory Christian before joining Sue at Sac State for the 1986-87 season. The Huffmans have had many special moments in their tenure as coaches, but none as special as their memories of Texas.

"Sue was a week away from delivering our third child when we upset the University of Texas, who was ranked No.19 at the time," said John. "Texas had a local girl on their team and the crowd to see the game and packed the gym. That was really special."

Sue and John know that glory is fleeting and this year is no exception. Sue takes full responsibility for the lackluster performances by her team this year, learning from each mistake and trying not to repeat them.

"We have not lived up to what I thought we could do," she said. "I brought a bunch of junior college players in thinking that I needed instant experience. "When you play on a team for four years you develop a unity. That lack of unity in the last two years has been the biggest disappointment."

In their second year of Big Sky Conference competition, the Huffmans are extremely happy with the changes that came with the affiliation. The Big Sky gives the Hornets a chance to win a Division I conference championship and a possible berth to the NCAA Tournament.

The consistency of conference play is a welcome relief to the hectic scheduling and wizardry performed by the Huffmans when Sac State was an independent program. "Being in the Big Sky gives us a lot more to offer the girls we are interested in," said Sue. "I've gained a lot of contacts and it's our second time around so we're beginning to feel a lot more comfortable."

Traveling in the Big Sky is the only downside the Huffman's experience because of their careers. It takes time away from their three children (John Jr. 14, Katelyn 10, and Molly 3) and other family here in Sacramento. The family dynamics the Huffmans bring to the women's basketball team are evident in the relationships between Sue, John and the rest of their family.

"We live right by our family," said Sue. "John's mother and brother live right behind us. With the amount of time that we travel, if they weren't there, we wouldn't be able to be here. They are real supportive. I think that philosophy carries over onto our team."

Sue and John believe in the importance of supporting the community. Recruitment of local talent has always been a priority, but has been difficult the last few years because of the team's dismal record.

"Non-Scholarship Division II, Scholarship Division II, Division I, America West Conference, Independent and Big Sky ... We've been here through the long haul," Sue said.

Women's hoops did get a boost when Sac State Athletic Director Judith Davidson increased the number of scholarships to 15.

However, the Huffmans were informed of the increase with the recruitment season already underway, so the team currently is using only 11. They saved the remaining four to recruit quality players this spring.

Sue and John have no intentions of pulling up the roots they have so deeply planted into this community. There is no drive to move all over the country searching for the next best thing to come along.

"This is our home," said John.

500 register to pass rock

Tuesday night, over 100 team captains and players crowded into the California Suite of the University Union to sign up for 5-on-5 basketball. This season there will be over 500 players on 55 teams participating in the intramural league sponsored by Recreational Sports.

"This is the most popular recreational sport by far on campus," said Recreational Sports Coordinator Rob Frye.

There are seven divisions, each one designed for a different level of competition. The divisions include: Men's Open A -- for more experienced players, Open B -- for less experienced players, Fraternity, On-Campus, Women's, Co-Rec (Co-ed) and 5-foot-10-inches and under -- for the slightly more down-to-earth people.

As well as promoting athletics, Rec Sports also provides a forum for good sportsmanship.

In order to ensure students can play in a positive environment, Rec Sports has devised a sportsmanship rating system.

Each player is given a sportsmanship rating at the end of each game. They will either receive an A for Acceptable, NI for Needs Improvement, or a U for Unacceptable.

According to Frye an "acceptable" rating will go to teams demonstrate cooperation with themselves and their opponents. "Needs improvement" means that there was a slight problem with team cohesion. An Unacceptable is given to a team that breaks a rule, namely fighting with another team.

Two "needs improvement" ratings will automatically drop the team from the league. Just one "unacceptable" rating will disqualify a team for the season. Team captains are responsible for the behavior of all their players and their spectators in the stands.

There are a few rule changes this season as well. The "slaughter rule" was changed from 40 to 30 points.

This rule is meant to prevent lopsided final scores by placing a cap on the point margin during the second half of games. Players are also not allowed to slam dunk before, during or after games.

Individual sign-ups are still being accepted for open teams. The 5-on-5 basketball season begins Feb. 9. Those interested should call Rob Frye at 278-6321.