Mitch Stahl stood at the service line, Pauley Pavilion silent before him.
The sophomore middle blocker stared at the volleyball in his hands, breathing deeply. He was aware of the challenge before UCLA men’s volleyball: defeating the nation’s top-ranked team. As he ran toward the court and lifted a serve over the net, he resolved to do all he could to see his team through to the victory.
That he did.
No. 12 UCLA, however, failed to pull off the improbable five-set upset Monday night, falling to No. 1 Hawai’i 3-2 in a late collapse.
“It’s unfortunate,” said coach John Speraw. “That loss shouldn’t happen and we’re going to go watch some video and continue to learn from it. I’m a little frustrated in the way that we played at the end of the match.”
Stahl led the Bruins (11-10, 7-10 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) both offensively and defensively on the court, posting a .600 hitting percentage and registering six total blocks. Many times when it looked like the game was starting to slip away from the Bruins, Stahl was there with a block or a crucial kill to keep UCLA in the game.
“I think we got on our heels a little bit and stopped really attacking the ball like we did in the first two sets,” Stahl said. “We didn’t pass quite as well and I think we eased up on the serving. They’re just a good team – tough to beat.”
Hitting errors, missed calls and a strong Rainbow Warrior defense put the Bruins in a variety of tight spots throughout the five sets. Although the Bruins won the first two sets, the ‘Bows (20-3, 15-2) fought back to capture their 13th victory in a row.
“I think we looked a little tired during warmups, but then we were up 2-0 and just didn’t take advantage of it,” said freshman outside hitter J.T. Hatch. “We kind of let them back in, and they took the momentum and went with it.”
Despite the loss, UCLA started to prove on Monday night what it has failed to prove all season: The team can be resilient. The Bruins found themselves in a number of prolonged volleys with the ‘Bows, one which saw Hatch kick a ball midway to the rafters in order to save a play.
UCLA was willing to do anything it took to win Monday, showing a resolve that was not present when the team questioned its own work ethic in the early season.
The Bruins are right back in action tomorrow night at Pauley Pavilion when they take on the ‘Bows for the second and final time in the season series.