With Wednesday’s match against LaVerne ending in only 52
minutes, many players were in the comfort of their own homes an
hour before some matches finish.
“Games like this are just a lot of fun,” said senior
setter Rich Nelson. “Everyone gets a lot of play, and
it’s a big confidence booster.”
The No. 6 UCLA men’s volleyball team hosted the University
of LaVerne (4-8) Wednesday night, the No. 3-ranked Division III
team. While the competition wasn’t too intense, the Bruins
(10-7, 6-6) managed to gain playing time for all 11 team members
and sweep the Leopards 30-13, 30-18 and 30-14.
“I think it went very well. We played hard, and some of
the guys really improved technically,” head coach Al Scates
said. “I think we got everything out of that kind of match
that we can.”
The evening gave rise to the many players that hadn’t had
much opportunity to excel in the previous matches. Sophomore setter
Jimmy Sepulveda came into the game and set up a strong offense for
the Bruins.
Opposites Matt McKinney and Allan Vince also contributed with
several blocks. While Vince led the Bruins with nine kills and 14
swings, McKinney came off the bench in the third game to go
five-for-five in kills.
Sophomore outside hitter Jonathan Acosta also helped the Bruins
take control of the net with seven kills and two aces.
The Bruins in total outblocked the Leopards 10.0 to 4.5, and
held LaVerne down to a negative hitting percentage (-.065).
“At this point we’re getting to be a pretty deep
team. This was a light workout, but now we’ll see if we
continue to improve,” Scates said.
This weekend’s road matches against No. 7 Long Beach State
and UC San Diego may be challenges to UCLA’s longest winning
streak this season. The Bruins are currently tied with Stanford and
Pacific nationally.
“Every game is really pivotal now, and we can’t
afford to lose to teams above or below us,” senior quick
hitter Scott Morrow said.
“Long Beach is a really important match for us. We just
have to continue to come out hard and play well,” Morrow
concluded.