The men’s volleyball team spent Valentine’s Day watching video and facing off against Hawai’i, Saturday on a plane, and Presidents Day practicing and lifting weights late into the evening.
And this week will only get busier for the No. 6 Bruins (10-5, 7-4 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) as they meet No. 14 UC Santa Barbara tonight (6-7, 4-5) and No. 4 Cal State Northridge (10-4, 6-3) on Friday, with both games on the road.
But the Bruins are anything but frantic about their hectic schedule.
In fact, they’re thrilled.
“Any athlete will tell you the same thing,” said libero Tony Ker, who missed action against Hawai’i this weekend because of a hamstring injury.
“That’s what you do. It doesn’t seem super busy, it’s kind of just like, that’s what you want to do. When you’re out there playing the sport you love and doing what you love to do, it doesn’t really seem like work.”
Ker is especially energized for this week’s encounters, as he was given the go-ahead from trainer Dale Rudd to participate in the full practice Monday. The three-time All-American is now back in action and itching to get back into the swing of things.
“I was so frustrated last week not being able to play, so I’m really excited to be back,” Ker said. “I went in (Monday) and Dale told me I could play. I almost jumped out of my skin I was so happy.”
The Bruins welcome the return of their cocaptain, as they may need that added inspiration tonight to take on the Gauchos, the team that knocked them out of the first round of the MPSF playoffs last year.
Although the memory of losing may not be at the forefront of their minds, the Bruins will certainly be using it as motivation to play hard after a lackluster output against the Warriors.
“I’m not necessarily thinking about it all the time, but it’s definitely on the back of my mind,” outside hitter Garrett Muagututia said. “It’ll give us a little extra fire going into the game.”
“You know, I hadn’t thought about that, but that’s a hell of a good idea,” coach Al Scates said. “Yes, we’ll try to (get revenge).”
This year’s matchup may be slightly easier than the one they faced in the quarterfinals last year, as Santa Barbara has graduated some key players, including its right-side juggernaut Evan Patak.
However, this season the Gauchos house a new force in Jeff Menzel, who is second in the league with 4.91 kills per game.
But as the Gauchos are having a subpar season thus far ““ they are ninth in the conference standings ““ UCLA sees tonight’s match as a golden opportunity to further its own standing in the MPSF.
“We just know we have to beat them because we’re fourth place in the league,” Scates said. “We’d like to keep our home-court advantage (for the playoffs), and Pepperdine is back at full strength, and they’re right behind us (in fifth). So it’s important that we start winning a higher percentage of matches.”