It’s hard to discuss the prominence of the UC Irvine men’s volleyball program without first making mention of UCLA. In fact, many of UC Irvine’s accomplishments come attached with the footnote, “since UCLA.”
The Anteaters are the first team to win back-to-back national championships, as they did in 2012 and 2013, since UCLA managed the feat in 1996. They are also the first team to experience a winning streak of national titles with three titles in six years — 2007, 2012 and 2013 — since UCLA claimed the NCAA championships in 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998 and 2000.
The dates associated with the glory days of UCLA are in a previous time period. These days, Irvine is the new kid on the block — and it’s running the town.
The two powerhouses meet for the first time this season on Monday night in a match that will be telling of both team’s postseason chances.
2006 marked a major turning point in the history of men’s volleyball, as it was the year that marked a shift in dominance between UCLA and UC Irvine. Al Scates’ powerhouse UCLA won its most recent national championship, as the next year Scates’ former player-turned-assistant coach John Speraw led UC Irvine to it’s first-ever national title.
Since that change, the Anteaters have supplanted the Bruins at the top of the rankings. Under Speraw, UC Irvine won three national championships after never having won top honors before. Since 2006, the Bruins have a grand total of zero national titles to their name.
However, UCLA holds more national championships than any other collegiate volleyball program with 19, all captured during the storied tenure of legendary coach Al Scates, who retired in 2012 after 50 years of coaching. The Bruins then reclaimed the Anteaters’ secret weapon as Speraw (UCLA ’95) and returned to Westwood to fill the shoes of his former coach and mentor.
“I think (playing Irvine) is fun for me because I really enjoyed coaching some of the guys that are still on that team,” Speraw said. “I think the type of players that we had at Irvine are quite similar to the type of players we have here at UCLA. A lot of those guys are my kind of guys, just like the guys are here.”
Speraw won two national championships while a player at UCLA and is looking to add more titles to his resume as a coach. So far, he and his team are on track, having won six matches in a row to move into the No. 3 national ranking.
But Irvine has crushed UCLA dreams in the past, especially en route to Speraw’s 2012 NCAA title, when the Anteaters defeated the then-No. 5 Bruins in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation quarterfinal, bringing an end to UCLA’s national title hopes and marking the final match of Scates’s career.
The rivalry adds extra weight to Monday night’s competition.
“You become so familiar with your opponent that you know them almost too well and then it gets crazy,” said senior outside hitter Robart Page. “You already know what’s going to happen so it’s all about who can do it better.”
UCLA will be even more familiar with UC Irvine after this week, as it takes on the Anteaters two times in a six-day period.
“It’s exciting,” said sophomore setter Steve O’Dell. “It’s a fun challenge to try and beat them twice. We’re coming into every match the same way, trying to win each match at a time. We put in the effort and we’re ready to take on the world.”