Prior to Wednesday’s match, UCLA head coach Al Scates
conceded that an upset win against No. 3 Pepperdine was
unlikely.
The No. 12 Bruins were off to their worst conference start in
school history. They were just beginning to recover from injuries.
The perennial national championship contenders, he said, were
merely playing as gutty little Bruins.
Scates, as usual, was right. UCLA lost in four games at home to
the conference-leading Waves. The Bruins looked disjointed at times
because of a lack of practice time together.
And one of them did play with the guts of an overachiever on a
team that has underachieved thus far.
Sophomore opposite hitter Allan Vince came off the bench to have
a career night with 27 kills, the most of any UCLA player this
season. After replacing struggling freshman Matt McKinney late in
Game 1, he went on a killing spree.
Vince put away 10 kills in Game 2, including the game-winning
ace. He hammered 14 kills in Game 3. He was seemingly
unstoppable.
“I got fired up just looking at my teammates,” said
Vince, the lanky transfer from Golden West College.
“We’d make eyes on the court, verifying that I wanted
the ball. I was in the zone.”
Although Vince sported a brace on the right elbow he had injured
in the fall and is still rehabbing, his attacks exploded off and
through the block.
“I tried to set him every single ball tonight,”
senior Rich Nelson said. “Pepperdine knew where I was going
to set him, but they were not going to stop him.”
But like the Bruins all season, Vince was not invincible and
failed to finish. In the deciding Game 4, he had five hitting
errors on three kills. He also spoiled game points on hitting and
serving errors.
“We didn’t lose because this is the best we’ve
ever played,” Vince said.
This is what it has come to for the beaten Bruins.
“If it weren’t for (Vince), who’s to say the
match is that close?” Nelson asked. “He lit a
spark.”
The Bruins, at least, have that going for them. But it remains
uncertain when ““ or if ““ they will catch fire.