Every team fears it ““ they know the potential havoc it can wreak on a season.
But after starting the season with a 7-2 record, the No. 7 UCLA men’s volleyball team dropped its fifth consecutive game and has failed to avoid what all teams strive to elude ““ a losing streak.
They previously defeated solid teams like No. 11 Penn State, No. 9 Pepperdine and No. 2 Long Beach State.
“Everyone is just frustrated,” redshirt junior setter Alex Scattareggia said. “We started off with the best start we’ve had since I’ve been here, and since then, we haven’t done anything ““ and this is when it matters.
Friday’s loss to No. 4 UC Santa Barbara dropped UCLA (7-7, 2-6 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) to last place in the conference. The loss was the Bruins’ second consecutive to the Gauchos that week.
“We have shown that we can play with anyone …. We keep beating ourselves,” junior opposite Kyle Caldwell said.
Although the streak may seem like cause for panic, the Bruins are still in the top 10 and have plenty to look forward to. All six of UCLA’s league losses came to the top four teams in the country ““ No. 1 USC, No. 2 Long Beach State, No. 3 BYU and No. 4 UCSB.
UCLA has only two games left against those teams.
The first step toward getting out of the slump for the Bruins is to focus on the next match, which will take place Thursday against No. 10 Hawai’i (5-6, 3-3) in Pauley Pavilion.
“We have played the top teams in the country and, finally, we’re going to play some teams that we should beat,” coach Al Scates said. “We want to make sure that what we learned in these past games carries over to the rest of the season.”
In the simplest of drills at practice, there’s diving, screaming, cursing and passion in every dig, spike and serve in an attempt to shake the streak.
“I’m making these practices intense on purpose,” Scates said.
“I’m making them tired, and I’m making them compete when they’re tired.”
Hawai’i is a team UCLA beat 3-0 on its way to wining the Outrigger Hotels Invitational, which was hosted by the Warriors.
Such a sweep would indicate an advantage for UCLA, but Hawai’i was missing its 6-foot-9-inch sophomore opposite Jonas Umlauft, who is currently leading the MPSF with 5.33 kills per game.