Citing his difficulty balancing academics and athletics as well
as his father’s health issues, UCLA men’s volleyball
setter Gaby Acevedo recently rescinded his scholarship from the
volleyball team.
The announcement comes as a shock for the men’s volleyball
program after Acevedo started the final two games of the Final Four
and was a major part of the Bruins’ success.
“Gaby had a great command of the offense and knew the hot
hitter,” said Al Scates, UCLA men’s volleyball coach.
“He also took directions very well from the coaches and will
be missed from the team.”
In the Final Four, Acevedo recorded 47 assists in the semifinals
against Penn State and helped the Bruins almost win the NCAA
Championship with 60 assists against Pepperdine.
As soon as the NCAA Tournament was over, however, Acevedo went
home to Puerto Rico for several weeks and contemplated his
experience at UCLA. When he returned to campus, he told Scates that
he would not be returning to the team next year.
The reasoning behind Acevedo’s decision was his difficulty
balancing academics and volleyball along with his father’s
declining health.
“The mix of academics and athletics was too much for
me,” Acevedo said. “I didn’t want to be in
college for at least five years, which is what I would have to do
to play on the team. It just wasn’t the best fit for
me.”
Due to the time commitment that volleyball demands, Acevedo was
having a hard time taking all the classes he needed, while
maintaining a high GPA. This resulted in his dropping of all his
classes except one during Spring quarter.
“I had decent grades, but it was hard to play volleyball
and go to school, and I thought after the Final Four that it was
time for me to move on,” Acevedo said. “I want to be
just a college student. I would have loved to be a full-course
student at UCLA because it is one of the best universities in the
world.”
Another major factor that influenced his decision to return to
Puerto Rico was the poor health of Acevedo’s father, Julio,
and his desire to be closer to his family.
His father recently underwent a stomach operation, and Acevedo
felt strongly that he should return home. His grandmother is also
very ill, and Acevedo will now take part in running the family
business, which is a professional summer volleyball league in
Puerto Rico.
Acevedo’s father was the general manager and owner of one
of the teams in the league.
“His father looked very pale when I saw him earlier this
year, and he seemed to move slowly,” Scates said. “I
knew his grandmother was ill, but I wasn’t aware how ill his
father was too.”
“The day Gaby came back from Puerto Rico, we had a meeting
and he let me know about his father’s health and that he
wanted to be close to his family.”
This summer, Acevedo will play in the Puerto Rican professional
summer league that attracts players from all over the world in
addition to taking summer school classes at the University of
Puerto Rico.
In the fall, Acevedo plans to return to school to finish his
communications major, and also play for the Puerto Rico National
Team.
Infusing energy into the Bruins this year, Acevedo provided a
boost to he team with his passion for the game. The redshirt
freshman set the team in 55 games last season, averaging 10.45
assists per game. He started the first eight matches of the year
before relinquishing the starting spot to Dennis Gonzalez.
“Gaby is an outstanding setter, and he certainly did a
good job last year,” Scates said. “He always had a lot
of energy, but Dennis is the same way, so we’re still in good
hands even though he’s departing.”
“We also have (freshman recruit) Matt Wade coming in, and
he’s another setter we could use.”
Even though he’s leaving UCLA, Acevedo feels that his two
years spent here were well worth it.
“UCLA is a great place to be, and I made many friends that
I will keep forever,” Acevedo said. “Everyone on the
team was great, and I’ll never forget the things we went
through.”
“I enjoyed my experience to the last second, but I
realized that my home is where I need to be.”