UCLA’s Stillwell Looking to Cap Blockbuster Season

UCLA, defending NCAA men’s volleyball champion, hosts the four-team national championship tournament beginning Thursday at Pauley Pavilion.

Tom Stillwell, a Bruin middle blocker from Notre Dame High, hopes to make the competition just one more big block party.

Stillwell, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, leads UCLA with an average of more than two blocks. He also has a team-high hitting percentage of .423.

The top-seeded Bruins (24-5), champions of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, play fourth-seeded Lewis (Ill.) College (31-4) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in a semifinal match.

Second-seeded Hawaii (26-2) plays No. 3 Penn State (24-5) in the other semifinal at 5:30 p.m. The championship match is Saturday at 4 p.m.

The Bruins won the MPSF title with a five-game victory over UC Santa Barbara on Saturday in Hawaii. Stillwell blocked 16 shots against Cal State Northridge in a semifinal match and had 11 blocks in the championship match.