Monday night’s sweep of USC may eventually prove to be nothing more than just another upswing in what has been a roller-coaster season. Or, it could prove to be the turning point of the UCLA men’s volleyball team’s season.
The players are thinking it’s the latter.
“I’m hoping we’ve turned the page and are ready to start new and start winning a series of games, get a streak going,” said redshirt senior opposite hitter Scott Vegas. “Everyone’s focused, we liked what happened on Monday and we want to do it again.”
No. 7 UCLA (10-8, 6-6 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) will need all the focus it can muster on Saturday, as the Bruins go back on the road on to play the No. 4 Pepperdine Waves (8-4, 8-4).
The Bruins are still looking for their first back-to-back wins in 12 games as sustained momentum has been hard to come by. While it may be frustrating that a team as talented as UCLA could go without consecutive wins over such a long stretch, Monday’s match may have provided the template for success. Simply staying focused is at the centerpiece of that template.
“We need to maintain our focus going into Pepperdine; we need to have good practices, good serve and pass drills, watch a lot of film, and just try to build on our momentum from our win over USC,” said freshman setter Steve O’Dell. “We were really focused before Monday, and our result was really good, so if we can maintain that focus then the good results will follow.”
The odds will not be in the Bruins’ favor as they aim to grab that elusive winning streak – Pepperdine has not lost a game at home all year. It’s a home court advantage to be reckoned with for a variety of reasons.
“I think their gym is a tough place to play in,” said assistant coach Brad Keller. “The lights are low, and it’s kind of sporadic, so the ball can go all over the place if you dig the ball high. Their fan base is really good, and they’re really comfortable at home.”
But win or lose on Saturday, members of the coaching staff said that they believe the team is making progress.
“We did a great job of serving and passing (against USC), and we did a better job of communicating. We just have to continue with that trend going forward,” Keller said. “We’re going in the right direction, we’re improving in some of the smaller areas and sometimes it doesn’t show, but I think we are getting better on a daily basis.”