There were few quiet moments Wednesday night at the John Wooden Center.
The music was deafening, the fans were rowdy and the blistering kills of sophomore outside hitter Jake Arnitz electrified the UCLA men’s volleyball team.
An evening that started slowly turned into a resounding victory, as the No. 4 Bruins (16-3, 12-3 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) roared to life to defeat the No. 9 Gauchos (13-7, 9-6) in four sets (21-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-18).
“I love playing in this place. It just feels like you’ve got more people in here,” said freshman setter/hitter Micah Ma’a. “The energy feels better, it bounces off the walls, it’s a better environment.”
OVER THE WEEKEND: Read the wrap of UCLA’s takedown of rival USC.
The atmosphere in the Wooden Center – in contrast to the team’s usual home of the spacious and echoey Pauley Pavilion – intensified throughout the night, just as the home team got into rhythm.
But most of the noise early on came from the Gaucho bench and its rambunctious contingent of visiting fans. The Bruins’ offense went quietly in the opening set, hitting just .125 with eight attack errors to its 12 kills. UCSB took the lead halfway through the set and UCLA fell 25-21.
Things quickly turned around thanks to the offense of Arnitz, Ma’a and sophomore outside hitter JT Hatch. The three underclassmen had two-thirds of the team’s kills after a 25-22 win in the second set, and ultimately combined for 37 of the team’s 54 kills, hitting at a .360 clip.
“I think the first set was still pretty good,” Arnitz said. “We tried not to come out flat, but it was still a little bit slow, so in the second set we just came out and played hard.”
SET SIX: Listen to last week’s podcast, featuring JT Hatch.
As the offense sped up, the defense got stauncher. UCLA players scrambled for loose balls, launching themselves headfirst toward the sidelines, and at one point colliding with a nearby photographer. The Bruin block also arrived in full force, totaling 9.5 blocks after just one in the first set.
The players said the noise helped fuel them, but coach John Speraw focused on the game at hand.
“I didn’t notice it, I think it was more about what we were doing on the court,” Speraw said. “Early on I don’t think the energy was where it needs to be. … Going into the second set I told the team that I thought we were fine, we need to not worry.”
Hitting .400 or better in a pair of 25-18 wins to end the night, the Bruins comfortably took the match and guaranteed themselves a winning conference record. Last year, UCLA finished 9-13 in MPSF play, including two losses at the hands of UCSB.
The Bruins have now faced every conference foe at least once – except the No. 2 BYU Cougars – and will continue their home-and-home series against the Gauchos on Friday night in Santa Barbara.
