No longer can the brashness of the UCLA men’s volleyball
team be considered bravado.
Not when the top-ranked Bruins have won their last six matches,
losing only two games in that span.
Never mind that No. 5 Long Beach State, the team’s
opponent tonight at Pauley Pavilion, won both meetings between the
schools last season, the worst in UCLA history.
“We didn’t have a good team, and they beat
us,” UCLA coach Al Scates said. “So what? Everybody had
our number last year, but they don’t anymore, do they? They
can only have our number for one season.”
Back then, UCLA (10-1, 5-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)
didn’t have the services of freshman opposite hitter Steve
Klosterman, its current leading attacker.
Klosterman, a Long Beach native, grew up watching the 49ers
play, but ultimately decided that going to school across the street
from his home was too close for comfort.
Now he’s leading UCLA’s reemergence as one of the
top teams in the nation.
“We’re gelling,” Klosterman said.
“They’re a good team, so it’s going to be a big
match.”
Long Beach State (9-3, 4-2) boasts a road win against Pepperdine
and actually has a better team hitting percentage than UCLA.
Senior outside hitters Scott Touzinsky and Jeff Wootten are the
leading 49er attackers, and sophomore setter Tyler Hildebrand was
the MPSF’s Freshman of the Year in 2003.
“This will be the best team we’ve played so
far,” Scates said.
But “we have good hitters at all positions,” Scates
added.
Besides Klosterman, junior middle blocker Paul Johnson is also
hot, hitting over .500 in sweeps over UC Santa Cruz and Cal State
Northridge, earning himself National Player of the Week honors.
Scates also points to the fact that the team is hitting about
.150 better than its opponents, showing just how well the team is
playing overall.
Johnson is blocking well, and senior libero Adam Shrader is
adding to his all-time digs record with every game he plays.
All this is happening as outside hitter Jonathan Acosta, the
team’s leading attacker last season, has yet to even make his
season debut after suffering a bout with appendicitis last month.
The junior, however, is expected to be in uniform tonight for the
first time at home.
Still, the Bruins, especially after last season’s 10-19
finish, understand winning is not something that can be taken for
granted.
“We have no room to take any teams lightly,” senior
middle blocker Chris Peña said. “We’ve played some
good teams, but we haven’t done anything yet.
“(Long Beach State) is capable of doing a lot, so we have
to stop them in their tracks.”