But after splitting two matches with No. 5 Brigham Young (14-9, 10-6 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) on Friday and Saturday night in Provo, Utah, No. 10 UCLA (10-13, 6-10) may have found a new stride away from Pauley Pavilion.
The Bruins out-served the Cougars on Friday, despite the extra difficulty of serving in-bounds due to the high elevation. UCLA won in four sets ““ 30-27, 30-27, 28-30, 30-25 ““ the first in Provo since 2005.
“These games (at BYU) are so tough because we have to take so much off our serves to keep it in,” coach Al Scates said. “The reason we won was because we served as well as they did.”
In Provo’s 4,550-foot elevation, the serves travel about four feet farther.
The Bruins played a tight match Saturday that went down to the wire in three of the four sets. Yet UCLA fell short, losing 31-29, 32-34, 28-30 and 25-30.
The weekend split puts the Bruins a half game ahead of UC San Diego in the race for the eighth and final berth in the MPSF Tournament, which begins April 25. BYU remains in fifth place, fighting for a top-four finish and home-court advantage in the quarterfinals.
The Bruins were led by redshirt freshman opposite Jack Polales, who posted 16 kills Friday night and 18 Saturday night.
“The first night, our game plan was to take the quick hitters out,” Scates said. “We took them out and held them to .267 with only seven kills.”
With such a critical aspect of their attack taken out, the Cougars formed a counterattack Saturday.
“The second night, (BYU) started running their quick hitters as decoys and started hitting from the back row,” Scates said. “So we had trouble blocking them.”
FRESHMEN GETTING EXPERIENCE: With the high elevation and large crowds at BYU volleyball matches, this weekend provided vital experience for the freshmen who had not played in Provo.
“Overall, it was such a tremendous experience for Polales, (Thomas) Amberg and (Nick) Vogel,” Scates said. “We are a young team, and these guys are getting a lot of playing time.”
The freshmen combined for a .307 clip, 69 kills and 19.5 total blocks this weekend.
With Provo being the host site for the NCAA Final Four, the freshmen gained the high-altitude experience that would be essential if the Bruins made a run at the NCAA Championships.
PLAYERS RETURNING: With junior outside hitter Garrett Muagututia now at full strength after spraining his ankle six weeks ago, the Bruins’ attack has vital dimension. Missing from Saturday’s match, though, was Muagututia’s reliable hitting.
“Garrett had a terrible hitting night,” Scates said. “I needed Garrett in because he was digging so many balls.”
Muagututia had eight digs and no return errors.
Redshirt senior quick hitter Jamie Diefenbach, who spent the first part of the season playing on the men’s basketball team, made his return with the men’s volleyball team this weekend.
Diefenbach, last year’s primary quick hitter, played his first match with the Bruins since falling in the quarterfinals of the MPSF playoffs more than 11 months ago. In just one set of play, Diefenbach made three kills on five errorless attempts.
“He is going to get a lot better,” Scates said. “He is just a little slow on his blocking.”
Diefenbach’s enthusiasm was also a welcome return for the Bruins, Scates added.
Scates said he will evaluate sophomore libero Tom Hastings. Hastings was academically ineligible to play during winter quarter and has been out from mononucleosis for about a month.
Hastings’ return, Scates said, will allow Muagututia, who has been playing more court and running fewer attacking routes this season, to focus more on attacking.
AROUND THE MPSF: With the MPSF Tournament less than four weeks away, the seedings are solidifying.
UC Irvine and Pepperdine, both 14-2, remain tied at first in the conference. Both teams have lost only one match at home.
Cal State Northridge (13-4) has a solid hold on third place, while USC (11-5), BYU (10-6) and Stanford (9-6) are competing for fourth place, the final spot that hosts a quarterfinal match.
Long Beach State (7-10), UCLA (6-10) and UCSD (6-11) are the rest of the playoff contenders. In the MPSF playoffs, the seventh- and eighth-seeded teams will play a match to determine who makes the playoffs. The winner faces the second seed in the quarterfinals.
The Bruins have six MPSF matches remaining, including a critical two-match series against Hawai’i this weekend.