The California dreams of the volleyball team quickly turned into nightmares as they came away empty-handed from the West Coast, dropping five games.

The team showed inconsistencies in their play against the Top 10 teams. And as Coach Tom Peterson pointed out, you can't beat teams of that caliber like that.

The tour started at Long Beach State on Feb. 24, where Long Beach overcame the Lions, 7-15, 15-1, 7-15 and 8-15. At the University of California at Santa Barbara on Feb. 27, the Lions were thrashed, 5-15, 4-15 and 13-15.

"Nothing worked for us. Passing was very bad and we were getting blocked," junior Guillo Silva said. "We came out flat and our communication broke down."

The team challenged San Diego State March 1 and fared no better, losing 11-15, 13-15 and 12-15. They moved onward to UCLA to participate in the Reebok Classic and dropped a narrow match to No. 1 UCLA, 15-11, 7-15, 9-15, 15-13, 7-15.

"Everyone played very well (against UCLA)," Silva said. "We were blocking and communicating. We almost pulled it off."

In the consolations the Lions faced Santa Barbara again and lost, 11-15, 7-15, in the best-of-three match.

"I'm kind of glad it's over," senior All-American Chris Chase said. "It was a tough trip. We were improving steadily until Santa Barbara Saturday. Our last match was a poor display."

"The experience of going to California is what was needed more than a bunch of wins," Coach Tom Peterson said. "It was very valuable for us. We will be a much better team for having gone."

Chase was unsatisfied with the team's performance.

"With the talent we have we could have gone 5-0," he said. "But the way we prepared for the tour we didn't have a chance because our practices have been so poor."

The California swing is another chapter in the woes of the volleyball team, currently in a whirlpool slump. The season has been full of downers for the Lions, and the effects are showing.

"On a volleyball team where something very intense is happening," Peterson said, "we can get on each other with people saying, 'Why didn't you hit that ball, Why didn't you do that?' We've got to get out of that stage where we accept people, accept their abilities, accept me as a leader."

The new coach also points to his mid-season transition as another reason for the troubles. He has introduced new technical strategies for the team, and doesn't believe the team has fully adjusted. He also singles out the general attitude in practice as another contributor to its slump.

"I'm asking the guys to work hard," he said. "And if that means that it's different than what they're used to then they'll just have to accept that. That's where the attitude problem is."

Chase agrees, but emphasized that they learned lessons from the California trip and believes the attitude is changing.

The team's losses don't rule out a berth to the NCAA Final Four, since that is dependent upon the EIVA tournament. The team remains optimistic.

"If we can pull it together," Chase said. "We can salvage the season and make it something we can be proud of."

"You have your peaks and valleys, and right now is our valley," Peterson said. "I think we hit rock bottom and are on our way up."

"If we have all six guns firing at the same time we know we can do the job," Silva said. "We can beat any team if we play to our level."