SPORTS A WORLD OF ELEGANCE Hard-Working Ex-Kibbutznik Is Big Hit In UCLA Volleyball RICK WEINBERG Special to The Jewish News T A Selection of Style and Creativity Attractive to all Tastes Specializing in Original and Innovative Designs MB JEWELRY DESIGN & MFG. LTD. MORRIS BEDNARSH, ANTHONY FERRARI APPLEGATE SQUARE 29847 NORTHWESTERN HWY. SOUTHFIELCt MI 356-7007 t d B'NAI B'RITH FAMILY NIGHT jLof i AT TIGER STADUIM Wednesday, June 7, 1989, 7:30 p.m. DETROIT TIGERS Versus BOSTON RED SOX Tickets Available Thru B'nai B'rith 25835 Southfield Rd., Sfld., MI 48075 Bus Transportation — Nominal Fee For Additional Info.-552-8177 — COMMUNITY INVITED — Rochelle Imber's r7 The ngerie .E Knit, Knit, Knit Offering a Full 20% Discount At Ad Times 85 5 -2 114 Accents in Needlepoint 855-2772 626-3042 Full Service Yarn Shop Place Full Service Needlepoint All Under One Roof in the 0 rchard Mall, West Bloomfield HERBS RELIABLE SERVICE ."Our Specialty Is Rust" Free Pickup and Delivery BUMP & PAINT BUMPING & PAINTING — Same Location Since 1972 — SHOP 493 0212 - HOME 356 3677 - I SAVE YOUR DEDUCTIBLE* *Ask for details Excellent Color Matching Insurance & Fleet 54 I AM. HERB SILVER CARES ABOUT YOUR CAR FRIDAY, MAY 19, 1989 here was no chance of Oren Scher making the University of California-Los Angeles men's volleyball team. None whatsoever. So thought UCLA head coach Al Scates. "He was always dragging himself around," Scates said, recalling his thoughts during UCLA's fall practice. "He was always so tired. Real weak. I figured he'd be on the junior varsity team for the season." But Scher didn't travel from a kibbutz in Israel to play for the Bruins' JV squad. He was, after all, the best player on the Israeli national volleyball team, a team that knocked UCLA around Pauley Pavilion during its 1987 United States tour. Scher not only made the varsity team, he is a key starter on the highly-ranked Bruins, who won the NCAA National Championships at Pauley Pavilion two weeks ago. The Bruins beat Stanford to win their 13th national ti- tle and fifth crown of the decade. To put Scher's ascent into perspective: his name is not mentioned in the season preview in UCLA's media guide and his biogrpahy also is absent. "Things did not go well for me in the beginning," said Scher in a heavy Israel ac- cent. "It was very hard for me." Working three jobs would be hard on anyone. But "to earn money so I could survive," Scher worked as a night security guard, sold frozen yogurt on weekends and worked as a handyman. He also took classes in computers, history and English while huffing and puffing through Scates' demanding practices, study- ing and lifting weights — a Scates requirement. "Oren showed up for prac- tice once without getting any sleep for over a 24-hour period," Scates said. "I sent him home. Told him to rest up." "I knew I had to slow down," Scher said. So he quit his handyman job. "The main thing is I need- ed to work as much as I could to support myself, to pay my bills," he said. "All my free time, I worked. I pushed myself to do it." Oren Scher: An omen? Once Scher started pacing himself, he worked back into shape and began performing well — well enough to beat out returning players Carl Henkel, Bill Suwara and Mark Tedson for a starting spot as swing hitter. "The big problem was that I came here terribly out of shape, terribly out of pratice," he said. "I sprained an ankle the year before I came, and it delayed my progress. It took a while for it to heal." Now he ranks among UCLA's leaders in kills and digs. "He's been a big surprise, considering his shaky start," Scates said. "He had a hard time jumping and hitting in the beginning, but that was because he was so tired. He was not eating properly or resting enough. Now he's playing the way I remembered him on the Israeli team. He's been ter- rific." Scher turned the Israel tour into his personal showcase. At 6-foot-3 and 193 pounds, he can block, he can bash the ball with authority and he can get down and dirty and dig. He can pass. He can serve. He can play defense. "The only thing he really needs to improve in is hitting deep sets," said Scates. "He tends to run under the balls. But he does everything else well. He's got great court sense." Less than a year ago, Scher, 23, was working in the fields of the kibbutz where he grew up, in northern Israel near Haifa. Scher's grandparents had come to Israel from Poland in the 1930s and settl- k1 in the kibbutz. Oren arose at 5 o'clock every morning but Saturday — no one in Israel works the Sab- bath — to work eight hours in the fields, planting and pick- ing cotton, fruits and vegetables. At night, Scher went to volleyball practice. His height and powerful spike earned him elite status in volleyball. In no time, he became one of Israel's best, making the na- tional team at age 16 and becoming a star. Scher played