Into their fourth game of the match, the Bruins had one last
chance to stay in the competition.
This chance ended up stretched to something that resembled a
mating ritual, with elaborate back-and-forth exchanges of points
that eased the teams into match point at almost every serve.
It wasn’t until the Bruins finally lost their edge, after
maintaining a tie to 35, that the Waves were able to finish off the
fourth game with a final score of 37-35, and won the match 3-1.
“Oh man. It’s not even possible to explain that
feeling,” libero Adam Shrader said.
“We have a lot of work to do, but I’m proud of
giving ourselves the chance to win,” he said.
Throughout the match, the Bruins had steadily gained intensity
in their playing. While losing the first game with a disappointing
30-22, UCLA came back to win the second game 30-26, then narrowly
losing the third 30-28.
The fourth game proved to be an agonizing loss, as the Bruins
had improved from mediocre blocking and hitting to a barrage of
consistent kills.
From the initial tie of 28 all in the fourth game, both sides of
the court refused to let the other side gain more than a point
advantage. The Waves’ blocks suddenly became impenetrable, as
the Bruins similarly refused to allow aces to fall into their
court. As the score crept past 30, it seemed that it was serving
errors more than anything else that spurred on the numerous
exchanges. The extended moment finally concluded as the Waves sent
off a final volley that the Bruins couldn’t return into
Pepperdine territory.
“The main focus is that Pepperdine may have a better
record than us right now, but we’re improving with each
game,” men’s volleyball head coach Al Scates said.
“We are a lot better than we were two weeks ago.”
The team experimented with an exchange in positions between
opposite Matt McKinney and outside hitter Jonathan Acosta. Last
night was also the first time on the court for middle blocker David
Russell.
But sophomore Allan Vince, playing opposite for the team, was
especially crucial to their recovery.
While coming in late the first game, Vince suddenly picked up
the Bruin competition by scoring first ten kills in the second
game, then 14 in the next.
“Vince came off the bench, and right away I just tried to
give him every pass,” captain and setter Rich Nelson
said.
His streak of kills revived his fellow Bruins and put the Waves
in a position to worry.
“He played a hell of a game, he was just a hammer-to-wall
on the court,” Shrader added.
“(The game) was disappointing, but a lot of players
contributed off the bench and stepped up,” Scates said.
“Our goal is to make the playoffs and peak in April. For
now, we just can’t lose to teams ranked lower than
us.”