It had been a rollercoaster ride for the UCLA men’s
volleyball team this season ““ the Bruins had neither won nor
lost more than three games in a row. But this past weekend, the
Bruins extended their winning streak to four games for the first
time this year as they defeated Long Beach State 30-21, 30-28,
30-28 and UC San Diego 28-30, 30-21, 30-21, 30-25 in their final
home matches of the regular season. And these two wins could not
have come at a more important time. With games dwindling on the
Bruins’ schedule, UCLA (16-12, 8-10 MPSF) is on a mission to
secure one of the eight spots in the Mountain Pacific Sports
Federation playoffs, which start on April 19. Currently the Bruins
are tied for seventh with UC Santa Barbara, 1.5 games ahead of
ninth-place USC (7-12). Beating No. 6 Long Beach State was a big
step toward securing a spot in the playoffs. “We’re
battling for a playoff spot, and now we’ve got a little
breathing room,” coach Al Scates said. “The Bruins are
back. We’re making a run for seventh so we can get home court
advantage (in the MPSF Play-In Match).” In the midst of their
longest winning streak, it appears the Bruins are finally playing
like the UCLA teams of old. Though the pieces have not all fallen
into place, UCLA appears to have finally broken its Dr. Jekyll and
Mr. Hyde pattern of losing after a win. “To beat Long Beach
in three was a great win,” outside hitter Damien Scott said.
“We played great all around as a team. I don’t want to
jinx it, but we’re getting to the team we were in the
fall.” UCLA has gotten back to its winning preseason ways
without its starting setter, redshirt senior Dennis Gonzalez.
Scates attributes this recent success to freshman setter Matt Wade,
who has gotten in many games of playing time while Gonzalez has
been injured. “Matt Wade has really grown since Dennis has
been out,” Scates said. “All of a sudden we’re
hitting over .400. He’s starting to connect and he’s
starting to know what each hitter likes.” Friday, Wade set
his hitters to a .424 kill percentage against the 49ers, the
highest attack rate of the season. The Bruins also matched their
previous season-high .409 attack against the Tritons on
Saturday.
SENIOR HONORS: Saturday, the Bruins paid
tribute to their five seniors: Scott, Gonzalez, quick hitter Nick
Scheftic, opposite David Russell and setter Aaron Dodd. The match
against the Tritons may have been the last time the seniors play at
home. Reminiscent of their days at UCLA, they felt a little sadness
welling. “When they were announcing my name, it just hit me
that this is the last game I’ll ever play at UCLA,”
Scheftic said. “It’s been a great experience playing
here at UCLA, and it’s been great to finish with two
wins.” “I love everyone on the team,” Scott said.
“I’m glad to be a part of a great program.”
GONZALEZ ON THE MEND: Gonzalez practiced for
the first time this Friday since suffering a high ankle sprain
against Hawai’i on March 10. Gonzalez was limited in practice
but is expected to be at nearly full strength for Friday’s
match against Stanford.