If there was one team the UCLA men’s volleyball team was
gunning for to begin this season, it was Long Beach State.
The 49ers, NCAA runner-ups last season, swept the Bruins three
times and ended UCLA’s season in the semifinals of the MPSF
Tournament.
“They beat us nine straight last year,” senior Paul
Johnson said. “You could say we’ll be head-hunting for
them on Wednesday.”
The fourth-ranked 49ers and top-ranked Bruins renew their
rivalry tonight at Pauley Pavilion in a match-up of two MPSF
contenders.
The 49ers (7-3, 5-2 MPSF) have won five of their last seven
matches, while the Bruins (10-1, 6-1 MPSF) are coming off an
exhausting five-game victory over No. 7 UCSB last Friday.
“It will be a tough match,” UCLA coach Al Scates
said. “Both teams have been playing well recently, and we
know each other quite well.”
The Bruins faced the 49ers earlier in the season during the UCSB
Elephant Bar Classic and swept them in three games, but it was the
second match of the season for both teams.
Since then, the 49ers have lost only two tough road matches and
are hitting at an amazing .356 clip, first in the MPSF.
“We caught them early on in the season,” outside
hitter Jonathan Acosta said. “It will definitely be a tougher
match this time around.”
The Bruins realize they are now a marked team, but in spite of
opposing teams gunning for them, UCLA’s motivation comes from
a different source.
The 49ers were UCLA’s nemesis, and not one of the Bruins
has forgotten that.
“We want to play them tough,” sophomore Steve
Klosterman said. “They ended our season, and they are the
team we dislike most in our conference.”
Many integral members of last year’s 49ers team have
graduated, but they still have All-American setter Tyler
Hildebrand, who repeatedly torched the Bruins last season.
“They are obviously missing their seniors from last
season,” Scates said. “But Hildebrand can still hurt
us.”
This year, Hildebrand has teamed up with senior hitter Yassir
Sliti, who is hitting .361 and averaging over four kills a game.
Assigned to stop Hildebrand and the 49ers’ attack will be the
Bruins’ defensive front of Johnson and Klosterman.
Both players went up against UCSB’s Evan Patak, the
NCAA’s leading hitter, last Friday and were able to hold him
below his season average.
“We’re going to need the same performance from both
players,” Scates said. “But the 49ers have a much
quicker offense, and they will be difficult to stop.”
Leading the attack for the Bruins, meanwhile, are Johnson and
Acosta with 3.17 and 3.0 kills, respectively.
UCLA’s match Wednesday will be their first at home after a
four-game road trip, and it will also mark the fourth consecutive
week the Bruins have been ranked No. 1.
“We are trying to keep building through our matches and
maintain the momentum,” Scates said.