The UCLA men’s volleyball team has never lost a game in
the NCAA Tournament when it has been held at Pauley Pavilion.
And it certainly doesn’t intend to start now.
When the Bruins face Penn State in the NCAA Semifinals tonight,
they will be backed by a 24-0 record on their home court, which has
led to nine of their 18 NCAA titles.
“This is our domain, and it’s great that we’re
playing here,” senior Paul Johnson said. “It’s a
huge advantage to play at home, and winning the championship on our
home court has been the single goal all season. It’s a big
game with a lot of pressure, but I think we can handle
it.”
Even Penn State coach Mark Pavlik recognized the aura that
surrounds Pauley Pavilion and the venue’s place in volleyball
history.
“Playing at Pauley for the NCAA Championships of
men’s volleyball I would imagine is like playing the World
Series at Yankee Stadium,” Pavlik said. “There’s
so much heritage and volleyball history here. It’s a great
opportunity for us. This is the kind of environment you want to
play in.”
If the Bruins are to play for a record 19th NCAA Championship on
Saturday, they must first dispatch of a tough Penn State team that
has won 14 consecutive games and has reached the Final Four seven
consecutive times.
The Nittany Lions’ last loss was almost two months ago to
UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. Before that, they had won 16 straight. In
that match, the Bruins’ nine serving aces, combined with poor
Penn State passing, led to a quick UCLA 3-0 win. But Scates noted
that there were multiple areas where Penn State outplayed UCLA.
“Penn State is a great opponent, and they are really good
at getting the ball to the best hitter,” UCLA coach Al Scates
said. “They outhit us, they outdug us, they outblocked us.
The only thing we did was win.”
Despite Penn State’s recent success and No. 2 national
ranking, the Bruins are confident of a win over the Nittany
Lions.
“I don’t think the match will be a lot different
from the last time we played them,” Scates said. “Our
jump servers are going to go back and cause some problems. If
they’ve improved their passing since we saw them,
they’ll be very difficult to beat, but if they haven’t,
the result should be the same.”
With players such as Nate Meerstein, who is second in the
country in hitting percentage with .521, and Keith Kowal, who paces
the nation in blocking with 1.73 per game, the Nittany Lions may
provide the Bruins with more than a light challenge.
“We’re in a position where we hope to do some things
that I think we’re ready to do at this point,” said
Pavlik, whose team leads the nation in hitting percentage.
“It’s going to be a great match, and we have a
legitimate shot.”
While the Bruins remain confident that the result will be the
same, the UCLA lineup that will take the court will be markedly
different than the one that disposed of Penn State in the
teams’ first meeting.
The Bruins have two new setters in Aaron Dodd and Gaby Acevedo
vying for the starting spot once occupied by now-injured Dennis
Gonzalez. Additionally, middle blocker Allan Vince is questionable
for tonight’s match after injuring his ankle in
Tuesday’s practice. Nonetheless, the players feel they will
be comfortable with the new lineup.
“We have gotten into more of a flow lately as the setters
have gotten used to us and we have gotten used to them,”
senior Kris Kraushaar said. “Last week’s practices
really helped that. We’ve also been working on our defense
around the block because that is something we’ve been
struggling with.”
The main feeling on the team is one of anticipation, as the
Bruins can finally achieve the goal they have been working toward
all season. After coming close to missing out on the NCAA
Tournament entirely, tonight’s match is also the ultimate
second chance for redemption.
“Getting a second chance and being able to play again is a
godsend,” senior Vince said. “It’s a feeling of
pure adrenaline, and we’re ready to secure our first win of
the tournament.”
In addition to excitement, the team feels a sense of urgency,
not wanting to become the second consecutive Bruin team to have its
seniors graduate without winning a national championship.
“Not having won in five years is a huge weight on us and
it just gets heavier and heavier every year,” Johnson said.
“It felt really bad to be a part of a team that had guys
graduate without a ring for the first time. This year we have to
get it done so that it doesn’t happen again.” With an
unbeaten NCAA record at home and the hope of their first
championship in five years riding on tonight’s game, the
Bruins feel they are ready.
“There is a huge amount of pressure, but we’ve
gotten this far, and we just have to play well for two more
matches,” Kraushaar said. “I’d really like to win
my last collegiate volleyball match.”