The UCLA men’s volleyball team arrived in Provo, Utah a
day early to become acclimated to the high elevation.
But if the third-seeded Bruins don’t find a way to beat
Long Beach State, a team that dominated them twice in the regular
season, their MPSF playoff run could end abruptly Thursday
night.
Many are anticipating a matchup Saturday between UCLA (24-5) and
top-seeded BYU in the MPSF finals, but if the Bruins don’t
beat the second-seeded 49ers (26-5), they will not play BYU or any
other team this season.
A loss will end the Bruins’ season, as LBSU would surely
secure the lone at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament that
traditionally goes to the MPSF’s second-place team.
“Their players should be extremely confident,” coach
Al Scates said. “They thoroughly dominated us in both matches
this year.”
The 49ers, the only team to defeat UCLA twice this season, are
led by outside hitters Jeff Wootton and Scott Touzinsky, who have
each averaged more than five kills per game against UCLA this
year.
“We haven’t been able to stop Wootton at all,”
Scates said.” He hits the blocks a lot and exploits any gaps
in the defense.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the 49ers are led by middle
blocker David Lee, who has averaged more than 1.4 blocks per game
on the season, the highest in the nation.
“Lee has been the best blocker in the MPSF this
year,” Scates said. “But we have been watching film,
and we feel we can take advantage of his blocking
technique.”
In both matches against the Bruins, Lee was able to register
more than 2 blocks per game and was a big deterrent to the
Bruins’ offense.
“He caused us to make same uncharacteristic hitting
errors,” Scates said. “But I think we have fixed those
problems, and Thursday’s match will be different.”
The Bruins, meanwhile, feature freshman opposite hitter Steve
Klosterman and senior middle blocker Chris Peña, both of whom
had 11 kills in the last Saturday’s playoff match against
Hawai’i.
Peña and Klosterman, two of the three top Bruins’
blockers, have led the Bruins’ resurgence in blocking and
limited their hitting errors of late.
“Our block has been more solid,” Scates said.
“We have been able to close the seams that were open earlier
in the season.”
In their last match against Hawai’i, the Bruins were able
to exploit the Warrior’s defense with jump serves, causing
the Warriors to make many passing errors.
However, Scates does not believe that serving will play to the
Bruins’ advantage against LBSU in the thin air of Provo,
Utah.
“We have been practicing our serves since our first day
here,” Scates said. “And the ball carries at least four
feet longer, so we won’t have the same advantage that we had
against Hawai’i.”
Along with its thin air, BYU’s Smith Fieldhouse usually
provides a decided advantage with its rowdy students and loyal
alumni.
However, with school already out of session, Scates does not
believe there will be a home court advantage.
“It will truly be a neutral match,” Scates said.
“The students will not be there, and I doubt the
Women’s Conference next door will attract any
fans.”
This will be the Bruins first trip to Provo for the MPSF
tournament since 2001, when it upset then No. 2 Long Beach State in
the championship.
“We hope that we can have a repeat performance,”
Scates said. “It would be nice to upset Long Beach State
again.”