RECORDS
#20 • DOUG PARTIE: QH 6-6 Santa Barbara, Calif. • Dos Pueblos HS
#45 • DENNY CLINE: MB 6-3 Newport Beach, Calif. • Newport Harbor HS
Doug Partie played alongside Ricci Luyties and formed an unbeatable combination. The Bruins won 126 of 133 matches with each of his four seasons resulting in an NCAA title. Partie controlled the net as one of collegiate volleyball’s most feared blockers—the Bruins established blocking records during his tenure that still stand. He was a three-time all-conference and All-America selection. On the U.S. National Team, he won a gold medal in 1988 and a bronze in 1992. He played professionally in the prestigious Italian League for two seasons and earned league allstar recognition. On the four-man pro beach circuit he earned league all-star honors, and in 1995 led Team Sideout to the regular season championship for which he won MVP honors. Doug was inducted into the Southern California Indoor Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2017 and named to the Pac-12 All-Century Team in 2016. Partie’s son Kendall also was a member of the men’s volleyball team at UCLA.
Denny Cline (#45) lettered at UCLA from 1974-76 and was, in Al Scates’ words, “a player who got more production out of less talent than any I’ve ever coached.” After being cut as a freshman, Cline fought his way into the lineup and the Bruins won three straight NCAA titles. Cline earned NCAA All-Tournament honors as a senior captain in 1976. He went on to play for the U.S. National Team that year and graduated from UCLA in 1977 with a 3.6 grade point average in Political Science. During the 1977 season, he served as a graduate assistant coach, and in 1978 Scates elevated him to full-time status. Cline served two stints and eight seasons as an assistant coach. As a player and assistant coach, he was involved in seven of the Bruins’ first 11 NCAA titles. He coached all three of UCLA’s undefeated teams, played on the Bruins’ second three-peat championship run (1974-76), and coached three-straight national championship teams (1982-84).
#22 • SINJIN SMITH: S 6-3 Santa Monica, Calif. • Loyola HS
#29 • STEVE SALMONS: QH/MB 6-4 Pacific Palisades, Calif. • Palisades HS
Sinjin Smith began his UCLA career in 1976 with an NCAA title and finished it by leading the Bruins to their first undefeated season in 1979, for which he was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Smith was a three-time all-conference player, twotime All-American and led the Bruins to a record of 85-9. Smith earned a spot on the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team, but did not compete when the United States boycotted. He then dedicated the rest of his athletic career to beach volleyball, where he ruled the sand with partner Randy Stoklos for more than a decade. The pair won a record 114 open beach tournaments together, more than $1.6 million and was responsible for the tremendous popularity of the sport. In 1996 at age 39, Smith and former Bruin Carl Henkel qualified for the Olympic beach competition and advanced to the semifinals before losing in an epic battle to eventual gold medalists Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes. In August 2001, Smith retired from the game at the Manhattan Open, a tournament he had won five times. Today, he serves as an ambassador for the game and administrator for the FIVB. Sinjin was inducted into the Southern California Indoor Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2017. Smith’s oldest son Hagen played on the UCLA men’s volleyball team from 2014-17.
Steve Salmons was a three-time All-American, who was selected the Player of the Year in 1978. In 1979, he played on the first undefeated volleyball team in NCAA history alongside fellow Hall of Famer Sinjin Smith. In 1981, after rehabilitating an injury during the regular season, he earned NCAA All-Tournament honors and led the Bruins to their eighth NCAA title. After leaving UCLA, he played for the U.S. National Team with Karch Kiraly until 1986 and helped lead the United States to the triple crown of international volleyball — the Olympic gold medal in 1984, the World Cup Championship in 1985, and the World Championship title in 1986. As a professional beach player, he was a member of the team that won the 1993 Japan Open. His teams also won 12 tournaments on the Budweiser 4-Man Tour from 1993-97. He earned all-league and Best Middle Blocker honors in 1994. Salmons was inducted into the Southern California Indoor Volleyball Hall of Fame in May of 2018. His son, Reece, joined the men’s volleyball team at UCLA for the 2017 season.
#43 • LARRY RUNDLE: 6-1 Detroit, Mich. • Santa Monica HS #54 • ERNIE SUWARA: 6-2 New York, N. Y. •
#11 • RICCI LUYTIES: S 6-5 Pacific Palisades, Calif. • Palisades HS Ricci Luyties played for the Bruins from 1981-84 and finished every season with a national championship ring. During two of those seasons, 1982 and 1984, the Bruins went undefeated. They also won 83 straight home matches during his career, compiled a record of 126-7 and won three- straight league titles. Individually, Luyties earned All-America honors twice, all-conference honors three times, and was selected Volleyball Magazine’s Player of the Year and the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player two straight years. He is the only player to receive both of the aforementioned awards two straight seasons. As a member of the U.S. National Team, he played on the 1988 team that won a gold medal in Seoul. On the pro beach circuit, Luyties won seven tournaments, including the 1991 U.S. Championships at Hermosa Beach. Currently, he is the head women’s volleyball coach at UC San Diego. He was inducted into the Southern California Indoor Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2017 and named to the Pac-12 All-Century Team in 2016.
Larry Rundle and Ernie Suwara were All-Americans together on some of the great UCLA teams of the 1960s before volleyball became an NCAA sport. Suwara was an Olympian in 1964 before playing at UCLA from 1965-67, and Rundle served as captain of the U.S. Olympic Team in 1968 after his success with the Bruins from 1965-66. Rundle, who played for a pair of UCLA conference championship teams, also played on the U.S. Pan American and World Games teams and was a five-time MVP in the USVBA national championshps from 1966-72. Suwara served as captain of the Bruins in 1967, played for three league championship teams and the Bruins were 72-8 during his college career. On the sand, Rundle won 13 beach tournaments and Suwara won two. Both players were inducted into the Southern California Indoor Volleyball Hall of Fame in May of 2018. Suwara was named to the Pac-12 All-Century Team in 2016.
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