Cougars take aim at national title

• ACal Baptist will likely challenge Columbia College for the NAIA crown.

With the varsity program being turned into a club sport next season due to Title IX and the restructuring of the athletic department, this year’s Cougar squad has something extra to prove in the six-team tournament.

“It’s easier to show our capability in a setting like this,” Cougar interim head coach Xu Bing said. “If we win it all, we can show everybody how a successful volleyball program should be.”

Winning the title won’t be easy. Like last year, California Baptist will likely be Columbia College’s No. 1 challenge in the tournament. But unlike last year, the No. 1 NAIA Cougars come in as the favorites, after defeating then-No. 1 and now-No. 2 Cal Baptist on March 17 in Los Angeles.

Columbia College, which went undefeated in conference play for the third straight year, was a finalist in last year’s national tournament losing to California Baptist.

The Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association champion Cougars are led by super freshman Winder Montaño. The former Venezuela national team player led the team in kills (375), kills per game (5.51) and attack percentage (.427) en route to picking up both conference MVP and NAIA freshman of the year awards.

Montaño’s performance in the upcoming six-team tournament may help him add a national player of the year award to his trophy case which already includes the 1994 Venezuelan Athlete of the Year award.

“Winder has been the difference this year,” said senior Mike Taylor, the Cougars assist leader with 954. “A lot of other teams would love to have a guy with his big swing and athletic ability. But he brings so much more.”

California Baptist (19-6) got off to a slow start this season, losing four of its first six matches — all to NCAA Division I opponents. But the Lancers turned things around finishing 17-2, including shocking upsets over NCAA No. 2 USC and No. 12 UC Santa Barbara.

The NAIA has only 28 schools with men’s volleyball programs and only four teams in the Southern California region. Cal Baptist, an independent school, has only had men’s volleyball for two years, but already has proved to be a challenge against the best in the region.

The team is led by Rafael Paal and 1999 All-national tournament team member Mark Pozsgai. Paal’s 1.07 service aces per game are tops in the nation and his 4.327 kills per game rank sixth.

Pozsgai, a senior opposite, is coming off a tremendous 1999 campaign in which he accumulated an astonishing 420 kills. He now has 655 career kills after adding 235 kills this year.

“Their entire team looks like linebackers,” said Park University coach Bertil Wamelink. “An incredibly strong team.”

Marycrest International (19-8,15-4 MIVA) enters the tournament ranked No. 3 and brings with it one of the nation’s premier attackers in All-MIVA selection and 1999 NAIA tourney MVP

Please see Cougars, page 3B

Mark Nowak. The 6-foot-5 opposite ranks third in the NAIA in kills per game (5.17), second in service aces per game (0.79) and is ninth in digs per game (2.33).

“Mark can always find a way to score,” said Marycrest coach Paul Lawson. “If he gets blocked on a swing, the ball still comes down as if he hit the ball without getting blocked.”

Setting up Nowak is the nation’s top assist man in Matt Sobocinski (15.8 assists per game), who was named MIVA’s Best Setter.

Hosting this year’s tournament is No. 4 NAIA Park University (16-7, 16-7 MIVA). The Pirates’ middle hitter Amarpreet Cheema has put up big numbers and has made his own case for NAIA MVP.

The 6-foot-6 All-MIVA selection from Patiala, India is No. 1 in the NAIA with a 44 percent hitting percentage, sixth in kills per game (4.04) and second in blocks per game (1.52).

“Amarpreet has some long arms and can get to a lot of balls other players cannot,” Wamelink said. “He’s come up big for us all year.”

Joining him on the Pirate frontline is MIVA Newcomer of the Year Fabricio Teixeira. The Brazilian native was ninth in the nation in kills per game (3.91), second in blocks per game (1.52) and seventh in service aces per game (0.55).

Although Columbia and Cal Baptist continue to dominate NAIA play, other teams are starting to catch up. The tournament is sure to be far more competitive this time around.

“Parity is becoming more even. Now there are lots of good teams in the NAIA,” White said. “Any team is capable of beating anybody on any given day.”

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