The Bruins needed to win.
Facing the prospect of their first four-game losing streak in
nearly seven years, the UCLA men’s volleyball team came out
fired up and dominated Penn State last night in the Outrigger
Invitational in Honolulu.
“I really wanted to win this match,” coach Al Scates
said. “I definitely think there was more pressure on the team
to win. I think the most I’ve ever lost in a row in my entire
coaching history is four, and that hasn’t happened
much.”
Unlike Wednesday night, when the Bruins lost after leading late
in each game against Ohio State, UCLA stepped up when it counted
against Penn State, shutting down the Nittany Lions 36-34, 30-26,
30-21.
With the teams tied at 33-33 in Game 1, senior opposite David
Russell came up big for the Bruins with two kills to ensure the
victory.
UCLA (3-3) showed its ability to take control late in a close
game again in Game 2, when the Bruins finished with a 7-3 run to
break the 23-23 tie. After two solid games, UCLA cruised to a win
in Game 3 to end the Bruins’ rare three-game losing
streak.
“We decided as a team not to play with our tails between
our legs just because we had lost a few games,” senior Damien
Scott said. “We wanted to come out on fire, and we made sure
to play hard every game. The entire match we all had smiles on our
faces because we knew we would win.”
For the night, UCLA hit .303 and held a potent Penn State
offense to a .147 hitting percentage. The Bruins were led by junior
outside hitter Paul George, who slammed 12 kills, and Scott, who
added 11.
The biggest surprise for the Bruins was the play of senior David
Russell, who before this week had only hit two kills all season.
Russell followed up an eight-kill (.636) performance against Ohio
State by smashing another eight against Penn State.
Russell started both of the Bruins’ matches this week,
taking the place in the starting lineup of freshman Jamie
Diefenbach, who tore the meniscus in his knee last week and will
have arthroscopic surgery today.
“Russell is doing a lot of good things for us right
now,” Scates said. “He played real good in the fall,
but he hadn’t had a chance to play lately because Diefenbach
was starting.”
In comparison to the match Wednesday, the Bruins played better
in every aspect last night.
One of the main reasons for the victory was the strong jump
serving the Bruins had, which made it difficult for the Nittany
Lions to pass.
“Our hitting, blocking and digging were better against
Penn State than they were (against Ohio State), but serving really
helped us get the win,” Scates said. “Russell was our
best server tonight, and he really turned our serving game
around.”
Although the rematch of last year’s NCAA Semifinals, in
which UCLA swept Penn State, ended with the same result, the win
was in no way assured for the Bruins.
Penn State had six returning starters from last year’s
squad, while the Bruins had only one returning starter in
Thursday’s lineup.
“We’re going with five new hitters since last year,
and even though some of them are older, none of them really have
had that much experience,” Scates said. “Everyone is
gaining experience, and the team showed a lot of improvement from
the last few games.”
UCLA will have no time to revel in its latest victory, as it
faces host Hawai’i in tonight’s match-up.
“We know that we are starting to play like we should, and
we will be fired up for the match against Hawai’i,”
Scott said. “We just need to keep rolling now.”