The No. 6 Bruins went to Illinois hopeful they could turn their road losing streak around. Although they settled for a 1-1 split over the weekend, the improvement was definitely noticeable.
“We played our best two matches away so far,” coach Al Scates said. “There is just such a marked difference right now in our overall performance at home and on the road, but we got a lot closer.”
UCLA opened up on Friday against No. 15 Lewis at the Neil Carey Arena in front of a packed crowd. The Bruins came out strong, winning the first set easily 30-22. The Flyers quickly turned things around, however, taking the next two sets at 30-26 each.
Heading into the fourth set the Bruins had to come out fighting to send it to a fifth set. The game stayed tight, as close as 19-18 late, until UCLA pulled away with a 7-2 run to help secure a 30-21 win.
In the fifth game UCLA found themselves in an early 6-2 hole. A timeout didn’t help, as Lewis stretched their lead to 11-5 before UCLA was able to claw their way back and force the Flyers to take a timeout, up 12-8. But the Bruins were unable to complete the comeback and finally lost 15-10.
“We could have hit better or served better, just any little thing, even passing better,” Scates said. “It was close.”
Opposites, senior Sean O’Malley and freshman Jack Polales, both originally from Illinois, led the Bruins against the Flyers. O’Malley ended the game with 17 kills with Polales racking up 19.
The next night against Loyola University Chicago proved to be a better outcome for UCLA. In front of a crowd of 2,211 at the Gentile Center, the Bruins were able to outlast the Ramblers in five games.
“It was a good environment for the home team,” Scates said. “It was a good experience to play in a place like that.”
The Bruins again opened the match strong, taking the first game, 30-22. The home team quickly came back in the second game to tie things up with a 30-26 victory. The teams would trade the next two games, with UCLA taking the third, 30-27, and Loyola taking the fourth, 25-30.
Heading into the fifth game the Bruins hit better than they did on Friday and were able to outlast Loyola, taking the match with a 20-18 conquest.
Scates was very happy with the play of his freshmen over the weekend, especially quick hitter Nick Vogel. Vogel slammed home a career-high with 21 kills on Saturday and hit .690.
“Nick Vogel played the best he has played,” Scates said “He had his best game of the year.”
Besides Vogel, the Bruins had four players who had double-digit kills against Loyola, including O’Malley with 15, Polales with 14, freshman opposite Kyle Caldwell with 12 and freshman quick hitter Thomas Amberg with 11.
UCLA did suffer an injury early in the first game against Lewis. Junior outside hitter Garrett Muagututia rolled his ankle on a double block, sidelining him for the rest of the trip.
“He’s been our best player on the road, so that’s a big blow,” Scates said.
From here the Bruins will look to take their higher level of play on the road to Pepperdine and USC, facing both teams later this week.
“When you are playing all those freshman it takes a while to play well on the road,” Scates said. “We picked it up considerably so I’m glad we took this trip; it was good practice for Pepperdine and USC.”