Gonzalo Quiroga adjusted his feet and calmly threw the ball up in the air. The junior outside hitter leapt up and cocked his right hand as if he was going to smash the ball just like the previous play. However, at the last second, he relaxed his arm and softly hit the ball over the net.
The UC San Diego players had also braced themselves for another rocket and left a gaping hole in the middle of the court where the ball landed ending the first set.
It was with that same technique and finesse that No. 5 UCLA men’s volleyball beat No. 13 UCSD at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday night.
“I think we got off to a really nice start specifically with our serving game. I also think that Gonzalo (Quiroga) and Spencer (Rowe) had a really nice offensive night and that was the difference,” said coach John Speraw.
Quiroga ended the first set with two consecutive service aces and UCLA dominated 25-10. The Bruins improved their serving on Saturday and the team did not commit unforced errors.
“I think the most important thing was we had really good practices after the game (against) Irvine and we came together as a team,” Quiroga said.
In the second set, UCLA jumped ahead once again and led 23-19. UCSD rallied back, however, and took the lead 25 to 24.
A service error by the Tritons tied the game at 25-25 and led to a never-ending rally between the two sides. Even the crowd anxiously rose to their feet to cheer on the home side.
However, junior middle blocker Spencer Rowe eased everyone’s nerves and slammed home a kill to end the set.
UCLA won the final set and the match when a UCSD player served the ball out of bounds.
“We were always ready to continue to the next point no matter what happened,” Rowe said.
“I think that helped us when we got in deep into that game and fortunately I was able to get that last pass and terminate the game.”
Contact Young Rae Kim at ykim@media.ucla.edu