Blocking and serving have been points of emphasis for the men’s volleyball team this season.
After excelling in both areas to give coach Al Scates his 1,200th career win in a thrilling five-set match Friday against Long Beach State, the Bruins struggled with blocking and serving Saturday in their 3-1 loss at UC San Diego.
The No. 7 Bruins (15-12, 10-10 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) lost 30-26, 30-25, 32-34, 30-27 to the No. 14 Tritons (9-18, 5-15) despite a memorable night by senior outside hitter Garrett Muagututia, and good hitting all around. The Bruins kept it close, and with the exception of the third, the Tritons were able to pull away late in each set. Scates addressed the continued blocking and serving issues.
“When we block and serve we can beat anybody, but we sure didn’t block, and we didn’t serve tough enough tonight,” Scates said.
The Bruins recorded seven blocks Saturday after getting 21 against Long Beach Friday. UCLA hit for a .779 serving percentage while the Tritons recorded an .841 percentage Saturday.
Some usually productive Bruins struggled against the Tritons, and Scates had to continue his season-long practice of shuffling players. Redshirt sophomore opposite Jack Polales and sophomore quick hitter Nick Vogel were both taken out, and Scates continued to substitute players in both positions. Freshman Jonathan Bridgeman went in for Polales, and senior Brett Perrine replaced Vogel. Opposite Craig McGowan and senior quick hitter Sean Nichols then came in for Bridgeman and Perrine.
“We went three deep in Vogel’s spot, we went three deep in Polales’s spot,” Scates said.
The outside hitters were consistent Saturday. Redshirt junior Dylan Bowermaster finished with 10 kills and a .450 hitting clip, two service aces and two blocks. Muagututia recorded 27 kills and hit for a .561 clip. Both players won praise from Scates, who said Muagututia had a career night.
“I think it was the best hitting that he’s done, possibly the best hitting he’s done,” Scates said. “Everybody knew we were going to him, and he had 27 kills in four games, and he hit .561, and he served great and he passed really well.”
Offensively, the Bruins put up solid team numbers. They hit .350 for the match, and hit .485 during their third set victory. The Bruins were down most of the third, before a service ace by sophomore quick hitter Thomas Amberg gave the team a 21-20 lead. The Tritons tied the set at 32 before a Muagututia kill and a Bowermaster service ace got the Bruins the 34-32 set win. Scates also highlighted McGowan’s strong play in the third.
Though their clip was good, the Bruins were out-hit by the Tritons, who hit .412 in the match.
Scates felt his team made too many hitting errors, and didn’t take advantage of UCSD’s struggles at the block. The Tritons only had three blocks, but Scates did credit their digging.
“They dug everything,” Scates said. “They really made some great digs, I must say that. They didn’t block well, but they dug really well.”
The Bruins will now play their final two home games Friday and Saturday. Scates summed up his team as one that lacks a significant winning streak, but can be dangerous if the block and serve is working.
“We haven’t run off a big streak,” Scates said. “So it’s like, for our league, we’re an average team who, if we bring the big serve, and then we get the block going, we can beat anybody on any given night, but it just doesn’t happen every night we walk out there.”
Scates’ 1,200th victory
Last Friday, the Bruins rallied to defeat the Long Beach State 49ers in five sets. With the 49ers needing only one point to win the match, the Bruins scored four straight points to win the set and the match. The win was the 1,200th of Scates’ legendary career.