Harrell at center of ‘Eaters’ hopes

A series of steps, sometimes small and quick, followed by one big leap.

This not only summarizes the most frequent activity performed by senior middle blocker Aaron Harrell on the volleyball court, but it also serves as a fitting description of his career path, once he arrived on the UC Irvine campus.

And, it is because of the progress the 6-foot-5 four-year starter has shown that the Anteaters are projected to be among the nation’s elite, despite losing four senior All-American’s from last year’s national championship team that finished 29-5.

“We kind of had a reputation the last two years as being a team with the same guys starting the whole time,” said Harrell, who led the No. 5-ranked Anteaters (2-1) into the UC Santa Barbara/Elephant Bar Tournament that concludes today at UCSB. “But this is a whole different set of guys. I just want them to make their own team.”

Harrell has made a difference for Coach John Speraw, who took a chance on the athletic, though undersized product of Buchanan High in Fresno.

“I only played one season of club volleyball, and that was just to see if I could get recruited,” Harrell said. “And UCI was the only school that recruited me.”

Speraw said he liked Harrell’s competitive attitude and the fact that he was a serious student. But, in terms of technique, Harrell arrived as a virtual blank canvas.

“I was sure I’d never have to worry about his academics and I saw he had a great work ethic,” Speraw said. “But I wasn’t sure if he’d become a great middle blocker in our conference, because he was not a very big guy and, technically, he had a lot of flaws.”

Speraw, once a middle blocker for a national championship at UCLA, began the education process the fall of Harrell’s freshman year.

“He was goofy-footed as a blocker and he really only could hit one shot,” Speraw recalled. “We changed his footwork that first year and I thought he did a good job of accepting our coaching. He came out of Fresno and we needed him to play right away. And boy, what an experience it must have been for him, going out in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and taking a beating.”

Harrell said the practices, as much as the matches, were humbling, as UCI battled through a 9-20 campaign.

“I was so green,” Harrell said. “Speraw was able to break me down and kind of build me back up the way he wanted to. And it was easy for me to absorb all of that instruction, because I was just happy to be in the starting lineup. My footwork was terrible and my vision was off. My freshman year, I hated practice, because it was nonstop being told I was doing the wrong thing. It just blew my mind.

“But, when I started my sophomore year, all those lessons I thought I hadn’t learned yet had stuck with me and were starting to come out. It worked out really well.”

Harrell, whose broad shoulders and square jaw give the appearance of a linebacker attacking the net, hit a then-school record .457 as a freshman and led the team in blocks per game (0.94). As a sophomore, the team was also growing up around him. UCI won the program’s first MPSF regular-season title and spent much of the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation.

That season ended with a loss to Penn State in the NCAA semifinals. Harrell wound up hitting .463, another school record, which ranked fifth nationally. He was a third-team All-MPSF pick.

Last season, Harrell again earned third-team All-MPSF laurels, hitting .443 (12th nationally), as he helped the Anteaters earn the program’s first NCAA crown. But he was somewhat overshadowed by then-senior middle David Smith, who hit .559 and earned first-team All-American recognition.

Harrell said Smith, still his roommate, would like nothing more than to see Harrell have a similarly outstanding senior campaign.

“It’s going to take a while for a new setter [junior Ryan Ammerman] to jell with the middles, so I’m going to try to contribute a little more with blocking,” said Harrell, who often gives away a handful of inches to taller opponents.

How does he compete being so undersized?

“I think being quick is pretty much the only thing that has kept me alive in the middle all these years,” said the biological sciences major, who foresees a career in physical therapy. “And I try to be an intellectual blocker. Because I don’t have a lot of time to be big above the net, I’ve got to be smart with my choices and my reads.”

Hang time aside, Harrell, surely, figures to be big for the Anteaters this season.

“I think our [younger] guys just need encouragement to find their own niche and their own style of play,” Harrell said. “Once that happens, they’re going to surprise some people.”

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at [email protected].