Thornton is UCI’s trigger

While indulging a budding passion for writing in his early teens, Brian Thornton was, unknowingly, fortifying the attribute perhaps most responsible for his future athletic success.

It is, after all, creativity that has allowed the UC Irvine men’s volleyball setter to render pervasive skepticism surrounding his supposed lack of physical gifts just so much fiction.

Scouting reports on the 6-foot-3 junior are not burdened by praise for his quickness or jumping ability. But those who have witnessed Thornton’s transformation from unheralded walk-on to the NCAA leader in assists (13.8 per game) for the top-ranked Anteaters, gush unabashedly about what fans of his Internet diary entries have also termed a beautiful mind.

“The most important thing a setter needs to do is set the ball,” UCI Coach John Speraw said. “Sometimes that’s lost when it comes to recruiting guys. [Thornton] just sets the ball very well. He’s creative, he distributes the ball very well and he’s deceptive at times. In situations where most setters do one thing, he’s willing to do another. Even in our [regular-season finale] against Santa Barbara, some of our guys were surprised they were getting the ball. And if we’re surprised, so is the opponent.”

The opponent tonight, in the second semifinal of the NCAA Championship at Penn State University’s Rec Hall at 5, is the host Nittany Lions.

UCI (27-4), which won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season title, then had its 21-match winning streak snapped by Long Beach State in the semifinals of the MPSF Championship, earned the lone at-large berth in the NCAA Championship. The Anteaters still picked up the No. 1 seed.

No. 4-seeded Penn State (20-8), the champion of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn., was swept by the Anteaters, 30-21, 30-27, 30-25, in their first meeting this season, March 7 at Crawford Court.

A victory would propel UCI into Saturday’s championship match, against either UCLA (24-12) or Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne (23-6). UCI swept UCLA in both of their two matches this season.

UCI has shattered the school record for victories this season (it was 20), due largely to a balanced attack fueled by Thornton. The Anteaters’ .334 hitting percentage ranks fourth in the nation.

A San Clemente High product and the son of Orange Coast College women’s basketball coach Mike Thornton, Brian Thornton said he is motivated by those who have questioned his athleticism. But rather than sweat any alleged limitations, he said he merely focuses on the ways in which he can help his team win.

“I try to concentrate on the mental aspects of the game,” he said. “That’s what I believe I’m good at.”

Thornton said the experience gained last season, his first as a full-time starter, helped create a comfort level most setters need to execute the myriad demands of the position.

“The more matches you play, the more you learn about the game, which is a lot faster [in college],” Thornton said. “There’s a lot of decision making out there and, don’t get me wrong, I still have to think a lot on the court. But, after awhile, it all starts to flow in a match. You start to not think about it as much because you just kind of know what’s going on out there. You just kind of play and let yourself play.”

Speraw said he has learned to trust Thornton’s instincts, even when they do not align with conventional volleyball wisdom.

“I tell our hitters, ‘You have to expect the ball, because you have no idea what’s going on in Thornton’s head,’ ” Speraw said. “We run an offense that is a little faster than most, but Brian does a good job of consistently putting the ball in a good location. We talk a lot during a match and, sometimes, when I feel like things need to be done a certain way against a particular opponent, I tell him what I’m thinking. Whether or not I disagree with him, at least I know he is doing things on the court with thought. He really likes to watch videotape of our opponents to prepare for matches. He’s never mindlessly chucking the ball around out there.”

Thornton, a Newport Beach resident, credits Speraw, as well as his former Balboa Bay club setting coach Travis Turner, for shaping his game.

“I think one of my teammates, Brett Simpson, said it best when he said that Speraw is a scientist who coaches volleyball,” Thornton said. “[Speraw’s] intelligence, knowledge of the game and passion for the game are awesome to be around. Sometimes he lets me go and sometimes he pulls me aside and lets me know what he wants done. He’s very intelligent, so talking to him always helps in terms of decision making and understanding the game.”

Thornton acknowledges he often makes unconventional decisions, but that is simply part of his plan.

“A lot of times, I try to make a decision based on what I think [the opposing players] are thinking that I’m thinking, if that makes any sense,” Thornton said.

“[Thornton] is a sneaky guy,” UCI freshman libero Brent Asuka said of the second-team All-MPSF performer. “He’s very cunning. He can make a play out of nothing.”

Thornton, who embraces the leadership demands of his position, seldom lacks something to say to his teammates or his growing list of diary readers.

“He’s intelligent, he has a great sense of humor and he has a ton of personality,” Speraw said. “You can see that in the diary that he writes [posted on the team’s website and titled “Seven,” after his jersey number] and in the way he is always having a good time with the guys off the court.”

Said Asuka, “He’s probably the funniest guy on our team. He comes up with things at random that make everyone laugh.”

Thornton, who also writes fiction short stories, said he enjoys using humor to lighten things up. But, ever the competitor, he is always serious about winning.

His commitment to the team’s success has become even more apparent since he broke his right thumb in early April. Thornton refused any suggestion of putting the thumb in a cast, electing to play through the pain with the help of a little tape.

“[The thumb] is as good as it’s going to get right now,” Thornton said Monday, after the team’s final practice in Irvine.

Thornton said this season has been remarkable so far. But, unlike his damaged digit, it could get markedly better in the next few days.dpt-ucivolley04.IMGGraphicInfo0G1QJTGB200605040G1QJTGBNo Captiondpt.04-ucivolley-CPhotoInfo6L1QJT9L20060504iyp9o9ncNo Caption