It has been an up-and-down season for the UCLA men’s volleyball team, with a few more downs as of late.
But with a three-game sweep of UC San Diego (1-4, 0-3 MPSF) Friday night 30-26, 35-33, 30-22, the No. 8 Bruins (3-4, 2-2) hope their fortunes will take an upward swing.
“It’s nice to get a win after a couple losses,” senior setter Matt Wade said. “It helps you gain your confidence back. A bunch of guys are feeling down at practice after our last match. We needed this one to get out of the hole we dug.”
Making their first career starts, redshirt freshman setter Alex Scattereggia and freshman quick hitter Thomas Amberg did not disappoint.
“Amberg played great,” coach Al Scates said. “He had a great line and was probably our best blocker.”
Amberg finished the game hitting .500 with 10 kills and seven block assists.
Scattereggia played in two sets, tallying 25 set assists and two block assists, before leaving the court due to leg cramps.
Scates called on Wade to step in and he delivered with 20 assists and five digs. Scates also utilized senior opposite Sean O’Malley after Scattereggia’s exit.
“The reason I haven’t been playing as far as I can tell this season is that I haven’t been able to pass the ball well,” O’Malley said. “Once my passing got better I wasn’t hitting as well. I’m glad I got called upon tonight. I was able to do a little bit of both.”
O’Malley had four kills on only eight attempts and added an ace.
Junior outside hitter Garrett Muagututia continued his strong play, leading the offensive attack with 15 kills (.440). Freshman opposite Kyle Caldwell contributed 10 kills (.412), 10 digs and seven block assists.
The passing, which has been a weakness so far this season, showed improvement and allowed the offense to spread out. Three Bruins had double-digit kills and the middles added 18 kills ““ 10 from Amberg and eight from senior quick hitter D.J. Stromath.
The Bruins’ hitting improved through the match ““ hitting .229 in the first set, followed by .474 and .500 in the next two. UCLA outhit UCSD .389 to .272 overall.
The team hopes to build on this win for the rest of the conference schedule. The next game is against NAIA powerhouse Cal Baptist at home on Wednesday.
“I think it’s about a good start,” O’Malley said. “If you get a couple points in the beginning everyone gets a little more confidence in their play.
“If you get skittish guys out there worrying about getting pulled and looking over their shoulder, it makes it really hard for guys to focus and everything goes down the tank. It’s starting to come together. I saw signs of improvement tonight.”