The road has not been friendly for the UCLA men’s volleyball team this season.
Dropping their third match in their four-match road trip, the No. 8 UCLA Bruins fell in four sets to cross-town rival No. 5 USC Friday night in front of 1,200 fans in the Galen Center.
The Trojans (10-3, 7-2) put the Bruins (7-8, 4-5) away easily in the fourth set 30-18, after a back-and-forth first three sets, 30-23, 28-30, 30-27.
Now, USC stands tied with Cal State Northridge for third in the MPSF while the Bruins, currently eighth in the standings, are just hanging in the playoff picture as the half-way point of the season nears.
Friday’s match highlighted the Bruins inability to win critical road matches ““ something the team has struggled with all season.
The Bruins also missed star junior outside hitter Garrett Muagututia, who was out due to an ankle sprain he suffered at Lewis Feb. 13.
With Muagututia out, UCLA looked to their depth for help against the Trojans.
“We needed some production from the outsides,” coach Al Scates said. “We didn’t have any. We just didn’t have any.”
Freshman quick hitter Thomas Amberg, the only Bruin starter to hit better than .300, was that spark the Bruins needed.
With the rest of the team recording a mere .066 clip, the Bruins had a hard time catching fire.
Though the Trojans had only two more kills than the Bruins, the real story was UCLA’s inability to block and serve successfully. The Trojans out-blocked the Bruins 16.5 to 5, while the Bruins recorded 26 service errors to the Trojans’ 20.
Amberg added that the team will need to work on its passing to open up more attacking options for the outside hitters, who were nearly silent against the Trojans.
Scates identified two rotations the Bruins were especially weak on due to their weak play from the outsides. The absence of Muagututia was not the only issue, though, for the weak outside hitting.
“I was looking for outside hitting, but we weren’t getting any,” Scates said.
With 14 players making an appearance against the Trojans, the Bruins were searching everywhere to fill their gaps.
Many of them were in to play outside hitter.
Among them was freshman opposite Kyle Caldwell, who has started most of the matches, but he too was ineffective.
“Amberg was sensational,” Scates said. “Finally (USC) figured out the outsides weren’t putting the ball away, so they put two blockers on him all the time and shut him down.
“We are going to be very happy when Garrett comes back.”
In his final match in the Galen Center, senior setter Matt Wade was dismayed when his team began giving up in the final set.
“It was tough at the end of the match to see everybody start giving up,” Wade said. “‘SC got off to a big lead and we never really bounced back, and it really showed at the end of that match.”
The first set started slowly for UCLA, being behind early by as many as eight, 9-17.
In the second set, the Bruins rallied late after trading points for much of the second set. Wade held his serve for three points to lead to a Bruin win in the second set.
In the third set, the Bruins kept up with the Trojans until the score was 26-26, after which it was all USC.
With few UCLA players hitting well, the Trojans cued into the Bruin attack, quickly taking the set.
INJURY UPDATE:
Muagututia is still listed as day-to-day.
Scates said that sophomore quick hitter Weston Dunlap, who has been out all season with a stress fracture, may begin practicing again next week.
Jeff Woodley practiced for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery in the offseason, and he will likely be available to play at Pauly Pavillion Wednesday night against Long Beach State.