UCLA men’s volleyball is no stranger to competition – 18 games into its campaign for a national title, it has dethroned previously No. 1 Stanford, swept defending champions UC Irvine and maintained a season-long 10 game win streak. It’s the competition among the team, however, that makes it strongest.
In Friday night’s three-set sweep of Cal State Northridge, coach John Speraw tested a much different starting lineup featuring three freshmen – setter Hagen Smith, outside hitter Jackson Bantle and libero Grant Chalmers – alongside three senior veterans.
“There are guys still competing for spots and we need to give them the opportunity to get out there and compete,” Speraw said. “There’s some guys who have been doing some really nice things in practice and continuing to improve so we want to make sure that guys have the opportunity to compete.”
From the energy on the court, it wasn’t obvious that Smith and Chalmers were new to the starting lineup, as the Bruins’ effortless chemistry powered the team to a fast two-set lead.
Smith was vocal throughout the entire game, consistently shouting encouragement and instructions to his teammates. He also appeared unfazed in crunch time, throwing himself around the court saving balls, making trick plays and calmly setting up game-changing kills in overtime of the tightly contested final set.
Chalmers also made an impact in his first career start, racking up plenty of playing time and contributing to the Bruins’ strong offense.
“My teammates were really enthusiastic and carried me. They didn’t care if I messed up,” Chalmers said. “I want to … help the team however I can. If that’s on the bench, that’s fine too. I’ll just be ready to go.”
It’s this selfless attitude that has driven the Bruins to a 11-3 record early on in the season.
“I’m just here for the team, whatever we need,” said redshirt junior middle blocker Clayton Paullin, who started in place of redshirt sophomore Trent Kersten. “It was fun to be out there. I think we had good chemistry this game.”
That chemistry persists despite inward competition for playing time, as the players have learned from Speraw to put the team above themselves.
“When that whistle blows and its UCLA against an opponent, we’re all in this together,” Speraw said. “If you have a group of men that buy into that, that really, truly want that … when you have people who set aside ego and set aside self-interest for the greater, then you can really achieve great things.”