Losses pivotal for UCI

For those who experienced them, or even witnessed them, the five postseason victories that led to the UC Irvine men's volleyball program's first NCAA championship will prove unforgettable.

But after the Anteaters topped Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne, 30-20, 24-30, 30-23, 30-28, in the title match Saturday at Ohio State University, a reflective UCI Coach John Speraw said some of the losses during the 2007 season should be remembered just as well.

"Somebody told me that that was win No. 99 for me [at UCI] and they said, 'Wouldn't you have liked to have won one more along the way, so it would have been 100?' " Speraw said. "I said there's no way I would have wanted another win, because the losses we had were incredibly valuable."

Speraw pointed to a five-game home loss to Pacific Feb. 10 and a five-game loss at UCLA April 6 as defining moments in the team's eventual journey to the top.

"After we lost to UOP, we came back and really competed hard, including beating [the Tigers] in three [at UOP on Feb. 17]," Speraw said.

After the first loss to UOP, the Anteaters won 10 straight matches, including six sweeps, before falling in five March 31 to then-top-ranked Pepperdine in the Waves' gym.

In it's next match, six days later at UCLA, Speraw said his team "took it easy" against the Bruins.

"We just weren't competing very hard, so I was pretty upset about that one," Speraw said. "I don't think we should have lost that match, specifically how we lost it."

Speraw said he compiled video clips of the Feb. 17 match at Pacific and ones from the UCLA loss and showed them to his players to point out the difference in their play and their behavior on the court in the two matches.

"There was a pretty dramatic change in the way they were competing [at UOP vs. UCLA]," Speraw said. "I think it opened their eyes as to how they needed to compete together for this team to win. I think that made a big difference. I think those two losses are the reason we are [national champions]."

After the UCLA loss, the Anteaters won their final two regular-season matches against Long Beach State and UC San Diego.

They opened the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament with a come-from-behind five-game quarterfinal win over visiting Hawaii.

They then rallied to earn comeback five-game triumphs over then-No. 2-ranked BYU and top-ranked Pepperdine, in the tournament semifinals and final, respectively, at Pepperdine.