Weber Proves He’s Fit for Volleyball Duty

Cory Weber plays volleyball, not soccer, because he’s a diabetic. Odd, but true.

It was merely a chain reaction to a little ignorance.

Weber, a fifth-year senior, played soccer until he was a freshman at Escondido San Pasqual High School, when he was diagnosed with diabetes. It had a strange side effect.

“My club [soccer] coach didn’t know how to deal with it,” Weber said. “So he decided I couldn’t play any more. He cut me from the team.”

As overly cautious as that sounds, it had a positive effect. Weber got bored and gave volleyball a try his junior year.

He developed so quickly that he was offered a scholarship to Irvine and the 6-foot-7 outside hitter is now the hand-picked replacement for Chris Harger. Those are big sneakers to slip into, considering the 6-10 Harger is with the national team.

As for the diabetes, if an athlete takes proper care of himself--as with Angel third baseman Dave Hollins--it’s not a problem. Weber does that, bringing food and juice to practice. Second-year Coach Charlie Brande also gives Weber a rest when he needs it.

What Brande also notices is the improvement that has occurred in the last year.

“He came back this year and was jumping 40 inches,” Brande said. “My jaw dropped. You can tell the light bulb clicked with him. He used to go through the motions, now he’s working to achieve.

“I asked him recently what he wants to do when he graduates, he said he may go work for a big company or he may go play volleyball in Europe. It was the first time he ever talked about playing professionally. It tells me, he knows he can.”

A big leap for a guy who didn’t play varsity at San Pasqual until his senior year.

Andy Read, then Irvine’s coach, saw Weber’s raw talent on tape and offered a scholarship. Now Weber seems to be tapping that potential.

“I enjoy a challenge and Charlie certainly challenges you,” Weber said. “I watched Chris play for four years and I never saw him play better than last year.

“I wasn’t aware of the game’s mental aspects until Charlie took over and told me to get my act together. I was being lazy and didn’t have emotional or mental control.”

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Of course, if volleyball doesn’t work out, there is always Nonesuch, the band Weber, a drummer, plays in. The other members attend USC but are not athletes.

The group performed at Julie’s, a club near the USC campus that has since closed, last summer.

“Some agents came up to us after that show, asking to represent us,” Weber said. “We’ve seen bands get [used] in the past, so we said no.”

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Ladies and gentlemen, your first-place UCI basketball team. . . . that is men’s basketball. . .really.

Irvine is tied with Cal State Fullerton for first in the Big West Conference’s Western Division. OK, it’s only two games in and each is 1-1, but Saturday’s victory at New Mexico State was a monumental step and sends a message: doormats no more.

Irvine already had won three games this season, but only one against a Division I opponent. This one was something special. It was only the Anteaters’ second victory in 14 games in Las Cruces and stopped a 23-game road losing streak.

No one, including themselves, can view the Anteaters the same.

“It makes our kids free to compete,” Coach Pat Douglass said. “It’s much easier sometimes to play when you’re behind. We want to do that when the game is tied or we’re ahead. This let our players know that if they do compete for 40 minutes, they can win.”

The Anteaters had a season-low 12 turnovers and a 40-33 rebound edge--only the second time this season Irvine has out-rebounded an opponent. The Anteaters also rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit.

All of which should make other conference opponents take notice.

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The Irvine women’s basketball team swept two games to open conference play last week. Point guard Megan Stafford, who had 35 points and 12 assists in the victories, was named the conference player of the week.

Stafford, like many of the Anteaters, struggled with offensive consistency through nonconference play. Now she has linked back-to-back strong performances--with 23 points and eight assists in the second half of those two games.

Anteater Notes

Outside hitter Mike Rupp was ruled academically eligible last week. . . . Senior guard Sabrina Roberson, a career 36% shooter, is fourth in the conference in field-goal percentage at 51%. . . . Swimmer Michelle Dienzo had season-best times in the 50-meter freestyle (25.23) and 100 butterfly (1:00.79) in a tri-meet Friday with Pepperdine and San Jose State.

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Coming Attractions

Key events for UC Irvine this week:

* Men’s basketball hosts Boise State Thursday and Idaho Saturday. Both games are 7 p.m. in the Bren Center.

* Women’s tennis opens its season against Point Loma Nazarene at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Irvine.

* Women’s basketball plays at Boise State Friday and at Idaho Sunday.

* Men’s volleyball hosts Cal State San Bernardino at 7 p.m. Friday in Crawford Hall.

* Men’s and women’s swimming and diving is at USC at 1 p.m. Saturday. The diving team will also compete in UCLA Invitational at Rose Bowl Aquatics Saturday.