BY TANNER WALTERS
Bruin Sports contributor
twalters@media.ucla.edu
The clock is ticking on the 2015 season for the UCLA men’s volleyball team.
With four matches left and the Bruins currently tied for the eighth and final spot in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament, the only time to make a move is now.
The team will get a chance to do so on Tuesday night when No. 12 UCLA (11-11, 7-11 MPSF) visits No. 3 Pepperdine (21-4, 16-4) in Malibu.
“We’re in a position right now where we gotta take care of Pepperdine,” said coach John Speraw. “We have to do everything we can to get a win and we can’t lose an opportunity to get better as a team.”
Winning against the Waves will be no easy task, but the young Bruins are feeling the time crunch of an ever-shortening season.
The team seemed to lack urgency when it was swept by Pepperdine (25-10, 25-20, 25-23) in late January. That match remains one of the Bruins’ worst offensive matches of the season as they hit just .125 and committed 20 hitting errors.
Since then, each team’s season has gone in starkly different directions.
The Waves have only lost four times, vaulting to the top of the conference. The Bruins on the other hand have steadily dropped to the bottom of the standings.
The Waves already clinched a spot in the MPSF tournament with a home court advantage. The Bruins are barely holding onto a playoff berth, tied with the No. 15 Stanford Cardinal and just a half game above the No. 13 Cal State Northridge Matadors.
The Waves are on an eight-match winning streak and haven’t lost at Firestone Fieldhouse since March of last season. The Bruins are on a three-game losing streak.
The challenge ahead is clear.
“Obviously (Pepperdine) is a better team than pretty much everyone else,” said freshman opposite Christian Hessenauer. “So our main thing is just to finish and maintain our energy throughout the entire game.”
Energy will only get the Bruins so far. The team will need to improve its offensive production and find defensive answers to a powerful opponent. The Waves hold the third-highest hitting percentage and the ninth-most aces in the nation, something that Speraw has specifically been preparing his team for.
“In our next two matches we have to deal with really good serving teams – teams that are physical and strong,” Speraw said. “Our challenge is a physical one in how we manage the power and velocity and speed of some of these more mature teams.”
Last week, the Bruins battled a losing effort against the No. 1 University of Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors until a fifth set, but the question remains: Is a young and inexperienced team ready to compete with the conference leaders?
“When it all comes down to it you just gotta get on the court and play volleyball,” said freshman outside hitter Jake Arnitz. “I think that’s what we’re going to do for the rest of the season – get out there and play our best.”