Rain and cold weather did not deter the Slugs, as they soundly handled Holy Names (from Oakland), beating them 30-17, 30-20, and 30-23. Santa Cruz’s win against the Hawks is the first of three meetings between the two teams this year. The next meeting, on April 2, will be Santa Cruz’s Senior Night.

Inside the West Field House, the lights shone brightly as fans gathered to watch the boys quickly defeat the Hawks.

During the first set, the players moved systematically, easily drawing first blood. In the second set, however, Holy Names kept tight with Santa Cruz early, holding their ground and matching the Slugs point-for-point until Santa Cruz broke the game open, increasing their lead to more than five. Most of Santa Cruz’s starters remained for the second game, but setter Mauro Salinas took over.

By the third set, the Hawks started fighting to stay alive. Holy Names started the third set following up each Santa Cruz point with one of their own, but eventually the Slugs were too much to take; Santa Cruz pulled ahead yet again and finished the match with a tip from Alex Merutka.

Starring at the top of the stat sheet was Justin Lam with an impressive 13 kills out of 17 attempts, Austin Einhorn with 9 kills out of 13 attempts and Austin Kress with 9 kills out of 10 attempts. Salinas contributed heavily to the Slugs’ win as well, with 31 assists in two games.

“I think we did a great job of bouncing back from our loss on Wednesday. It was definitely a good win to have going into our last regular season DIII game,” Salinas said. “Our strongest quality was to be able to rebound and side out – basically what we did the whole game, and we came out on top.”

Earlier in the week on Feb. 23, the boys played second-ranked Division I Stanford in Palo Alto, but unfortunately lost 3-0. However, after their second loss of the year the to nation’s then second-best college program, Santa Cruz rallied together to face their next opponent with a certain fierceness and authority.

“We played great, everybody stepped in, the team passed amazing and passing is the first key to volleyball,” outside hitter Austin Kress said. “We hit well as a team – nothing that night was a very big let-down. We lost a few points here and there but really came together as a team to get the next point.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at UCSC Men’s Volleyball Handles Hawks

The UC Santa Cruz men’s volleyball team had nothing but smiles on as they were cheered off the court in the “Slug Dome” after an impressive 3-0 victory over Springfield College on Saturday, January 16.

The Banana Slugs’ opponent, the Springfield Pride, was ranked second among Division III schools before the start of this game, just slightly better than UCSC’s third-place standing in the country. However, it was UCSC who came out on top.

“I think we definitely get the home crowd advantage here in the Slug Dome,” said assistant head coach Todd Hollenbeck with a laugh. “This is the first time we have ever played against Springfield, and they are ranked two or three and are one of our top competitors. … We were definitely gunning for them.”

The Slugs were dominant in the first set, despite the fact that the Springfield front line towered over most of the men on UCSC’s team. However, the Slugs’ own big man, junior middle blocker Rick Schroeder, held strong in the center, coming up with huge blocks for the team as UCSC easily took the first set 30-24.

Cheers ran throughout the crowd as the Slugs came back on the floor with what was to be a different second set. The two teams went back and forth early on, with Springfield able to take an early 7-6 lead due to some misplays by Santa Cruz, but UCSC was able to put the pressure on and eventually surged ahead 15-11. Perhaps this was thanks to support from the crowd, which cheered loudly and taunted Springfield with chants of “Overrated!” Although Springfield was able to come back and tie it again at 23-23, the Slugs stormed them and eventually finished off the set 30-25, which allowed them to take a 2-0 lead on Springfield.

At this, the crowd was ecstatic and on the edge of their seats, hoping to watch the Slugs finish off their opponent in the third set. Although the third set saw Springfield take an early 10-6 lead, the Slugs were able to get some lucky calls and tie it up 13-13, then took the lead back at 14-13, which put the pressure on Springfield and caused them to call another timeout. From there the Slugs didn’t look back, and although their opponent fought back to come within two, UCSC kept their composure late and finished off the third set 30-28 to win the game.

“It was an excellent win tonight. We did a really great job getting the ball to our pin hitters and controlling the middle of the court,” head coach Jonah Carson said. “This is a very important win for us in terms of Division III volleyball, so the team deserves to enjoy every minute of it.”

Senior outside hitter Justin Lam, who had 10 kills and 10 digs for the night, was equally enthusiastic about the team’s win and credited Springfield for not backing down.

“I think that Springfield just kept coming back [because] they were not ready to give up, but we were able to preserve and keep up the pressure and the lead,” Lam said. “They were ranked higher than us, so it’s a good statement for us as a team, just to prove to ourselves that we can take down a team that has a lot of talent and are strong competitors.”

Assistant head coach Hollenbeck said that this was a statement game, which shows other teams in Division III volleyball that UC Santa Cruz should be recognized for their talent.

“We’re not just some random team on the West Coast,” he said. “… We are a team that can compete with the best and should be reckoned with.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Taking Away the Pride

Mark McGwire’s name has been on the Hall of Fame ballot for four years, and in each election he has failed to receive more than 24 percent of the vote from sportswriters, a total which is more than 50 percent short of the necessary two-thirds majority required to earn a plaque in Cooperstown.

On Jan. 11, McGwire admitted he was one of many Major League Baseball (MLB) players of the past two decades to use performance-enhancing steroids. This now ensures that the only hall he’ll ever get elected to is the Steroid Users’ Hall of Shame.

After his 2005 Congressional testimony where he said “didn’t want to talk about the past,” McGwire finally confessed what everyone already suspected in a tearful sit-down interview with sports journalist Bob Costas on the MLB Network Monday night.

While he did sound remorseful, he gave a similar spiel to every baseball player before him who has admitted similar misgivings. McGwire claimed he used steroids to “help his body heal” and that while they were useful in that manner, he believes they had nothing to do with the 70 home runs he hit in 1998 (which means he is either completely naïve or a liar, one would think). He also refused to specify which drugs he took in particular, but rather said he couldn’t remember their names (despite the fact that he said he took them consistently for at least five years).

Should McGwire be commended for finally speaking out? Not particularly. It took him a decade after his playing days were over and four-plus years after lying in front of Congress about his steroid use for him to come out. Because as the new hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals, he probably didn’t want to have to face questions from the media every day about these allegations. But MLB commissioner Bud Selig would beg to differ with my opinion, as he said in a released statement: “The so-called ‘steroid era’ — a reference that is resented by the many players who played in that era and never touched the substances — is clearly a thing of the past, and Mark’s admission today is another step in the right direction.”

How do I begin with picking apart that line? With the supposed fact that “many” players during the so-called steroid era didn’t actually use performance-enhancing substances whatsoever? Or how about with his strong statement that this whole matter is “clearly a thing of the past”?

While players may not be using steroids as rampantly as they did a decade ago, this problem is not confined to the 1990s or 2000s alone. Recall Los Angeles Dodgers star Manny Ramirez, who received a 50-game suspension in May 2009 for having the female fertility drug known as human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in his system, a drug that’s typically used by athletes to restart their bodies’ natural testosterone when they are coming off a steroid cycle.

In addition, the names of a litany of players every year continue to be linked to steroids, either through the release of a new report or by their own admission (i.e. the afore-mentioned Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, and David Ortiz, just to name a few big players who were tied to performance-enhancers in 2009 alone). The only remaining big bat of the past 10 years who has been tied to steroids and not admitted it is Barry Bonds, and unless the pending perjury case against him moves forward, one cannot expect him to come out and say anything soon.

While American society in general can be characterized as forgiving (how else could A-Rod go from being jeered in April to cheered in October?), McGwire should not expect any extra sympathy Hall of Fame votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America when they vote again next January. Rather, he will go down in infamy as yet another player whose greatness will be marked with an asterisk.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Mark McGwire Comes Clean on Dirty Past