The main focus for the UCLA men’s volleyball team going into this season has been the competition in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, and the anticipation for league play finally came to fruition when Cal State Northridge came to Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday.
The Bruins came out with a strong sense of silent confidence, which, outside of a third-set letdown, compelled them to a relatively painless 3-1 victory.
“We have talked all preseason about how important league games are,” coach Al Scates said. “This was the first one, and we really wanted to make an impression.”
“It was great to come out and start the season with a win on our home court,” junior quick hitter Thomas Amberg added. “We played really well in the first two sets and the fourth set so overall we are really happy to come away with a league win.”
UCLA jumped out quickly in the first set to an 11-5 lead behind a flurry of kills, including two from Amberg and one from freshman outside hitter Gonzalo Quiroga. The Bruins continued to roll through the first set behind Amberg, who continued to pound the ball, accumulating a .714 hitting percentage for the set. UCLA finished off the set 25-19 on an emphatic triple block that included Amberg, Quiroga and redshirt junior quick hitter Weston Dunlap, who got the start because of a stellar performance at the Outrigger Hotels Invitational, where he was named to the All-Tournament team.
“Apparently Wes just needed some playing time,” Scates said. “We put him in during the second set against Penn State during the tournament, and he’s been lights out ever since.”
The second set was not quite as meticulous as the first for the No. 3 Bruins (6-1, 1-0 MPSF), as they began to have problems with their serves, totaling four service errors in the set. Fortunately for the Bruins, the No. 11 Matadors (2-4, 1-2) had problems of their own, as they were only able to accumulate a .195 hitting percentage. The Matadors were able to stay in the set up until Amberg took a set from junior setter Kyle Caldwell ““ both of whom are returning from injuries ““ and slammed it with authority to take a commanding 18-13 lead. The Bruins then finished off the set with another 25-19 win.
“It has been so great to have Kyle and Tom back,” Dunlap said. “(Redshirt junior setter) Alex Scattareggia did an amazing job filling in for Kyle while he was gone, but Kyle is also a great setter, so it’s good to have him back. And Tom is such a fantastic overall player, fantastic blocker, fantastic hitter ““ just everything. I really think he can be an All-American this year.”
CSUN came out in the third set with a sense of urgency that UCLA did not quite match.
The Bruins added another five service errors while only hitting .250, 40 points lower than their second-set clip. Behind 6-foot-8-inch freshman middle blocker Greg Faulkner’s four kills and some excellent digging, the Matadors downed the Bruins in the third set 25-22.
“This was a really good Northridge team that we went against,” Scates said. “They are probably the best ball-handling team we’re going to play all year. They pass great, they serve tough, we would block it straight down and they would find a way to get it up, which they really showed in that third set. They really made us work tonight.”
Despite the Matadors’ surge in the third, the fourth set belonged to the Bruins. With the help of the Matador’s remarkable eight service errors in the set, the Bruins finished off the match with a convincing 25-17 fourth-set win behind more solid play from Amberg, coupled with an excellent team effort at the net, where the Bruins totaled 17 blocks on the night, including 5.5 in the fourth.
The Bruins will not have a very long break before their next match, as they take on Long Beach State on the road Friday.