The regular season is over and UCLA men’s volleyball now gets to reflect on what has been more than a bounce-back year for the team.
This year has seen the team attain the nation’s top ranking more than once, go on a 10-match winning streak and only lose back-to-back matches once. The Bruins have not failed to impress.
None of that will matter, though, if No. 3 UCLA (23-5, 17-5 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) does not carry its winning ways into the postseason Saturday against No. 8 Hawai’i (16-11, 11-11) in the MPSF quarterfinals.
The Bruins’ 2016 campaign has been a stark improvement over last season, which saw the team limp to a sub-.500 finish for only the second time in the 30-year history of the program.
That 10-win improvement to the team’s record includes victories over every opponent on the schedule, except one – top-ranked BYU. Coach John Speraw attributed his team’s success to a number of aspects of the game.
“In general, our dig-to-transition has really improved,” Speraw said. “We’ve become one of the better digging teams in the country. That took a lot of work.”
The Bruins out-dug their opponents 921 to 854 this regular season and out-blocked opponents by 75. The blocking statistic stands out given the fact that UCLA – even as one of the top squads – is often less physically imposing.
“We talked about it a lot and spent a lot of time on the fundamentals and defense,” Speraw said. “We’re not the biggest team, but I think we play good defense.”
It was improved defense that helped the Bruins sweep a more physical Stanford team last week that had run rampant over UCLA in February in Palo Alto.
Additionally, several players have shown that improved team chemistry and communication were major keys to the team’s success, given the unique level of youth that makes up the squad.
Events like a team brunch at the house of junior middle blocker Mitch Stahl in Pennsylvania – early in the season on a road trip to the East Coast – and the Bruins’ trip to Hawaii for a week have served to strengthen the bond between the players.
“Getting to know each other off the court – it’s one of the most influential things,” said freshman setter/hitter Micah Ma’a, who was also named National Co-Freshman of the Week. “Because even on the court, our communication and camaraderie really helps us out.”
Steadfast communication was an area of emphasis this season for UCLA. The subject was frequently brought up by Speraw and the players in post-practice interviews as an aspect of the game they felt they always needed to work on.
“Our mental side of the game has really come up,” said junior setter Hagen Smith. “We all have the talent, it’s all there.”
UCLA’s mental toughness has stood out for such a young team – only two seniors, compared to six freshman – over the course of the regular season. Nothing is a given, however, for the postseason ahead. Smith emphasized the importance of avoiding the complacency that can plague dominant teams.
The Bruins will get a chance to test their mental toughness in the postseason this Saturday in the conference quarterfinals against Hawai’i. UCLA split a weekend series against the Rainbow Warriors earlier this season, but the rival MPSF school has had an up-and-down season since.
“Everything is up in the air right now, and good teams are going to go all out,” Smith said. “So we’ve got to show them that we’re not an easy stepover.”
Go Bruins!!!