With six matches before the MPSF playoffs, the UCLA men’s volleyball team is geared up for a dead sprint ““ it currently holds the final playoff spot by only half a game.
Trying to establish some late-season momentum, the No. 9 UCLA Bruins (10-13, 6-10) begin a four-match home-stand tonight against the No. 13 Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors (6-15, 3-13).
As they are trying to ensure a solid seeding in the conference tournament, the Bruins feel a sense of urgency.
“We are never comfortable,” senior outside hitter Sean O’Malley said about the team’s position in the standings.
Senior setter Matt Wade echoed this sentiment.
“When you’re only a half a game ahead of the team behind you and half a game behind the team in front of you, you always feel a sense of urgency to play your best every night and go out and beat everyone you play,” Wade said.
O’Malley added that the Bruins are mentally tough enough to withstand the pressure of fighting for a playoff spot this late in the season. Tonight’s and Friday night’s matches against Hawai’i will also be critical to establish momentum entering the playoffs.
The Warriors enter the match without a single road win while Pauley Pavilion has been a stronghold for the Bruins this year.
“We play a lot better here,” Wade said. “We need to sweep against Hawai’i, we need to beat Pacific and Stanford, and we need to beat either Pepperdine or ‘SC to get in the playoffs.”
The Bruins have not played in Pauley for four weeks, but Wade said this would not be a problem for the team.
“We’ve played there enough and most of the guys have been playing here two, three, four years,” Wade said. “We know what we’re getting when we go in there.”
UCLA leads Hawai’i in assists, hitting percentage and aces but the Warriors average 0.13 more blocks per set than the Bruins. The Bruins are also without their best blocker, freshman Kyle Caldwell, who has been out with a thumb injury he suffered at BYU.
LINE-UP FLUCTUATIONS: O’Malley added that the Bruins underwent some vital line-up and playing changes.
“We’re still trying to find a solid group of guys to get together,” O’Malley said. “This week against Hawai’i at home is a good opportunity to … establish a solid team and find some momentum for the following matches, which will be more difficult but are just as crucial.”
Despite the time to make changes over the break, the men’s volleyball team has had little time to recover physically. After a week off for finals, the Bruins were back to practice and had to travel to Utah at the end of spring break.
“I don’t think we feel physically replenished,” O’Malley said. “We spend so much time training and conditioning, we should be used to it.”
AROUND THE MPSF: With just three weeks left in conference play, a number of teams have clinched critical playoff berths.
Pepperdine, UC Irvine, Cal State Northridge and USC have clinched a spot in the postseason.
Also, this week in conference play, UCI is scheduled to visit BYU in a critical matchup, and Cal State Northridge is set to host USC. Wednesday night, Pepperdine beat Cal State Northridge in five sets, putting them in sole possession of first place in the MPSF.