The UCLA men’s volleyball team got exactly what it needed
on Friday night: an easy win over a non-conference opponent.
Following a heartbreaking loss to USC and in danger of falling
below .500, UCLA (6-5, 1-3 MPSF) was able to execute the
fundamentals and experiment with two new starters en route to
putting away UC Santa Cruz 30-19, 30-19, 30-20.
“Coming into the game, we knew that we had a lot of things
that we needed to work on,” junior Paul George said.
“We play Santa Cruz every year and we generally pound them
every year, but we expected a little more from them.”
Facing the Division III Banana Slugs, there was never much doubt
about the outcome. Even so, the Bruins’ numbers were
phenomenal.
UCLA smashed 55 kills and only had seven errors to give the team
a season-high .552 hitting percentage, almost double their season
average of .289.
The Bruins also outblocked the Banana Slugs 10.5-1, holding
Santa Cruz to a .140 hitting percentage in the first start of the
season for true freshmen Matt Wade and Ian Jackson.
“Santa Cruz is not a strong team, but it was a valuable
experience to allow some other starters to get in sync with the
defense and offense,” UCLA coach Al Scates said.
“Matt Wade and Ian Jackson needed to play with the other
starters, and they played well, so I left them in the whole
match.”
With a duration of only one hour and nine minutes, the match
provided little more than a short workout for the Bruins.
In his first start, Jackson made his presence felt immediately,
getting a block to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead in Game 1.
UCLA never let up, taking the first game by hitting at a .562
clip. Four Bruins hit at least .600 in the game for the first time
this season, led by seven kills from junior outside hitter Paul
George (.667).
Game 2 was no different, as the Bruins raced out to a 12-5 lead
that quickly became a 21-12 margin with six kills from junior Steve
Klosterman.
Santa Cruz gained its only lead of the match at 3-2 in Game 3,
but the success was short-lived, as UCLA took the next two points
to stay in the lead for good. UCLA had five total blocks in the
third game, led by senior middle blocker David Russell’s one
solo block and three block assists.
For the match, senior quick hitter Nick Scheftic hit .833 with
10 kills and no errors. Sophomore libero Tony Ker filled out the
lineup with 11 digs.
“We definitely improved in the match because we were
communicating better than we had been,” Klosterman said.
“Everyone was really mad from the USC loss, so we really
wanted to get the job done. It was pretty much a free-for-all,
since (Santa Cruz) didn’t know what was going on.”
Perhaps the brightest spot of all for the Bruins was the play of
Wade and Jackson. The freshmen handled the pressure of starting for
their first time, and provided more than menial contributions.
Wade set the team to its high hitting percentage against the
Banana Slugs. He had 46 set assists and ran the offense well,
allowing four players to get at least 10 kills.
Jackson slammed 11 kills while picking up two digs, an ace and
two block assists in only his second match of the season.
“I thought Matt set a real nice game and Ian did
everything well,” Scates said. “(Ian) is a good player,
and doesn’t have any real weaknesses. In the future these two
freshmen will be starters.”
Although the win was not particularly hard-fought, the Bruins
view the match as important because it allowed them to work on many
of the fundamentals the team is still lacking.
“This was a great start for us, but we still have so much
more that can get better,” George said. “After 10
matches you would think the little things like calling the ball
would be there, but the fundamentals haven’t been there
lately. This win helped us get back into the groove of playing
volleyball like we’re used to.”