Last season, UCLA men’s volleyball played UC Irvine three times. The Bruins lost all three matches by a combined set total of 9-1. But that was last year.
This year the No. 2 Bruins (3-0) are playing the No. 4 Anteaters (1-1) with a core of players who have grown up a little and a new set of dynamic freshmen who have taken the team by storm.
“It’s experience,” said junior middle blocker Mitch Stahl. “Our freshmen playing right now are playing like sophomores and juniors. They’re not playing like freshmen on the court and everyone who played last year has another year of experience.”
Stahl’s and the Bruins’ success in early 2016 can be attributed to the passing skills of two of UCLA’s setters, junior Hagen Smith and freshman Micah Ma’a.
Smith and Ma’a share fairly similar statistics with Smith leading in assists 73-60 and Ma’a leading in kills 26-12.
“The 6-2 (offense) hasn’t been seen in a long time, it’s more of an old school thing,” Smith said. “But the way we play, we can work off each other and we kind of think the same so it helps out the team and we help out each other when we make crazy plays.”
The 6-2 offense consists of four attackers on the court and two setters. The setter in the front row acts as a hitter and only the back-row setter actually sets the ball.
Even with this new, well-performing offense, coach John Speraw is cautious.
“We are improved from last year but Irvine is different, too,” Speraw said. “They have some different personnel and we don’t know as much about them at this point as we knew about their team last year. So I think we’re just going to have to go in and say the cliché coaching line that we’re just taking care of our side of the net.”
Both the Bruins and the Anteaters beat George Mason in straight sets, but the latter lost to No. 6 Loyola-Chicago in an up-and-down five set match. That loss dropped Irvine down in the rankings from No. 2 to No. 4.
UC Irvine boasts an even-keeled offense with a battering ram at the front of the ship. The offense leans on senior outside hitter Kyle Russell, freshman opposite Karl Apfelbach and senior middle blocker Jason Agopian, all of whom have double digit kills through two games.
But it’s junior opposite Tamir Hershko who is spearheading the Anteaters’ offense with 26 kills in his first two games of action.
UCLA’s final game against UC Irvine last season was in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation quarterfinal where the Bruins were eliminated by the Anteaters.
“There’s a lot of motivation going into this match,” Stahl said. “We got eliminated in the playoffs at their place, so we can get back at them, there at their own court, and get out on them early in the season for the W.”