Bragging rights are on the line Saturday as the UCLA men’s volleyball team takes on the alumni team in its annual exhibition match in Pauley Pavilion.
Because most of the current UCLA players have played with or against their alumni opponents, friendly competition is likely to take on a whole new meaning.
The alumni match is traditionally very competitive, but the varsity team has bested the alumni the past eight years, with the last alumni victory coming in the 1999-2000 season.
The Bruins, who placed first in the Husky Dino Cup last month, are looking to finish their preseason strong heading into the start of the regular season next weekend.
With upcoming matches against Long Beach State, UCSB and CSUN, the Bruins will use the alumni game to prepare their team for the upcoming season and to showcase their talent.
The Bruins are led by legendary coach Al Scates, who is entering his 47th year at UCLA. He has won 19 NCAA titles during his time at UCLA.
Scates said a lot of young players are challenging veterans for playing time, so he uses the alumni game as a trial of sorts.
“We’ve been training for five weeks now,” Scates said at practice on Wednesday. “So we all should be playing at a very high level.”
The Bruins look to senior Sean O’Malley and junior Garrett Muagututia, their two veteran outside hitters, for leadership. O’Malley was named tournament MVP at the Husky Dino cup after a 19-kill performance in the gold medal match. Muagututia and O’Malley led the team last year in kills with 473 and 345, respectively.
After two quick exits in the postseason in his first two years, Muagututia feels confident about UCLA’s chances this season.
“We’re going for it all this year,” Muagututia said. “We’re ready to make a run at it.”
O’Malley expressed his excitement about the upcoming alumni game because he knows a lot of the alumni personally, having played with them the past three years.
“They have a lot of cagey veterans who will try trick shots to expose our weaknesses,” O’Malley said. “But we feel like a well-oiled machine by now.”
The alumni feature former ex-UCLA volleyball letterers, including Tony Ker (’08), a four-time All-American and 2007-08 Defensive Player of the Year.
Also competing from the USA national team are Nick Scheftic (’06) and Brandon Taliaferro (’00). A few older alumni will also compete, including 1988 Olympic gold medalist Doug Partie (’84), who led the Bruins to four straight NCAA championships during his time at UCLA. The alumni team will be coached by current UCLA assistant coach J.T. Wenger.
Coach Scates is planning on testing out different lineups during the match to see which groups work well together on the court.
Besides O’Malley and Muagututia, freshman Kyle Caldwell will start at opposite for UCLA, while freshman Nick Vogel and sophomore Weston Dunlap will start as middle blockers.
Like last year, Kevin Kerok and Matt Wadeok will battle it out for the starting setter position, and sophomore Tom Hastings will start at libero for the Bruins.
The alumni game has been a tradition at UCLA since men’s volleyball became an NCAA sport, running for almost 40 years now.
Admission to Pauley Pavilion is free for the game.