Sophomore Garrett Muagututia’s signature Afro is no more, at least for now. Muagututia arrived at Monday practice with a new, tamer haircut, but with his same focus.
With two tough opponents this week ““ No. 11 USC and No. 2 Pepperdine ““ the Bruins will require a lot of focus and intensity to pick up two critical conference wins.
The No. 5 Bruins (5-2, 3-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) will travel downtown to square off against the Trojans (3-4, 2-2) tonight.
Already down 35-10 in the Lexus Gauntlet race, the Bruins seem eager at the chance to pick apart a struggling USC team. Yet the Bruins’ energy at practice this week has been concentrated on improving their own play.
“At this time of the year we are mainly focused on what we are doing on our side of the court,” assistant coach Brian Rofer said.
In UCLA’s 3-1 loss to Long Beach State last week, coach Al Scates made many substitutions, which, Rofer said, were mainly due to attitude. The coaching staff addressed the attitude issues at practice. “If we lose again, it won’t be because of lack of effort,” Rofer said.
Rofer’s prediction was supported by a demanding practice Monday, and both players and coaches echoed this focus.
“We had a real tough practice,” junior Jamie Diefenbach said. “It got us in the right mind-set.”
Aside from their attitude though, Rofer said the Bruins did not show the focus and motivation they need to beat quality opponents.
“We didn’t look like we wanted to play,” Rofer said. “Like we told the team today, you have to practice like you’re playing a real game.”
Diefenbach agreed that focus was a major part of their preparation to face quality opponents.
“I would call it a lack of focus,” Diefenbach said. “We got away from some of the fundamentals. Long Beach State is a tough opponent but we all feel we could play a lot better.”
Though their practices have been centered on improving their own play, the Bruins will have to defend the Trojan’s strong offense.
Trojans star freshman Murphy Troy, seventh in the MPSF in kills per game with 4.33 and ninth in points with 5.10, should force the Bruins’ defense to work hard.
The freshman’s talent, coupled with the Bruins’ weak defensive showing against Long Beach State, led to a lot of emphasis on playing the back at practice. Rofer added that this emphasis fits into correcting the lack of effort the coaching staff noticed last Friday.
Muagututia will serve as an counter to the Trojans, and the Bruins’ leader in kills hopes his new haircut will help him jump higher.
Aside from Muagututia, the Trojan defense will also have the one-two punch of Diefenbach, hitting .416, and junior Matt Wade, hitting .433, at the net.
The game should feature a tough matchup at the net and strong early-match play against the Trojans.
And then there’s the obvious question: Are the Bruins pumped up to face the crosstown rival?
“Everyone here is,” Rofer said. “It goes without saying; it’s just a known.”
“I don’t like losing,” Muagututia said.
INJURY REPORT: Sophomore outside hitter Dylan Bowermaster is still unable to complete a full practice after straining his quadriceps tendon in early January in Hawaii.