As Garrett Muagututia slammed a kill into a huge Wes Dunlap block near the end of Monday’s practice, it was a reminder of what the Bruins are to face tonight: familiar adversity.
With a Trojan team that brings back all six starters from last year, the matchup will likely be without surprises. Furthermore, with USC ranked No. 1 in the nation, the Bruins will have plenty of roadblocks tonight.
In addition to facing their cross-town rivals, sophomore quick hitters Thomas Amberg and Nick Vogel have a couple of personal rivals on the Trojans in juniors Murphy Troy and Tri Bourne, both of whom competed with Amberg and Vogel over the summer with the Junior National Team.
But the Bruins, in their Mountain Pacific Sports Confederation and home opener tonight, are focusing on their own side of the net and improving their early-season issues, coach Al Scates said.
He added that he did not plan on installing his USC game plan until Tuesday’s practice, giving his team plenty of time to work on those problem areas, such as serving and blocking, in preparation for hosting the nation’s top squad.
USC possesses two dominant attackers in Troy, an All-MPSF First Team honoree who plays opposite, and Bourne, who plays outside hitter.
For Amberg, the familiarity with the Trojans makes tonight’s rivalry match especially sweet.
“I’m looking forward to the game a lot,” he said. “I’ve got some personal rivalries on the team because I played with some of the players overseas.”
Seeing the same USC squad may make constructing a game plan easier, but Scates maintained that facing USC’s experienced lineup will still be a challenge, adding that he is one of the six coaches to vote for USC as the first-place team in NCAA volleyball.
The Bruins return many of their starters from last season but have a substantially shifted lineup and are still looking to establish their starters.
Sophomore Kyle Caldwell, who switched over to setter from opposite during the offseason has given the UCLA attack another dimension.
The 6-foot-8-inch left-handed setter has given UCLA an extra attacking option, making blockers second-guess whether he is setting to a quick attacker or will go for the kill.
“It makes a difference just to have another attacker in the front court when the setter is front row. You don’t see that very much with any other team,” Caldwell said. “Being a left-handed setter alone, but being 6-8, too, helps a lot.”
Amberg agreed, adding that Caldwell’s insertion into the starting lineup this season has helped the team’s blocking, an especially useful skill against a powerful Trojan attack.
“Kyle is a great blocker, and he puts the ball where it needs to be,” Amberg said.
For Caldwell, however, the formula for success tonight is simple:
“It’s “˜SC, what can you say? We hate them. We want to beat them. We’re just going to go out and play our best and beat them.”
Bruins retire jersey
The men’s volleyball team will be retiring the jersey of UCLA Athletics Hall of Famer Stein Metzger in a pre-match ceremony tonight.
Metzger, a standout setter for UCLA from 1993 to 1996, led the Bruins to three NCAA Championships in 1993, 1995 and 1996, earning MVP honors in his final season. Metzger was also a two-time first team AVCA All-American honoree.
The Honolulu native went on to compete in professional beach volleyball with the AVP, winning 18 titles, including 16 domestic and two international titles. He also competed in the 2004 Olympics with Dax Holdren.