After a lengthy break from action, the UCLA men’s volleyball team is preparing to take on the top competition in the Santa Barbara Invitational. The three-match tournament, which takes place today and Friday at UC Santa Barbara, features highly ranked teams and traditional powerhouses.
In their first match of today’s double-header the Bruins will take on No. 13 UC San Diego, a team that UCLA coach Al Scates believes will be a tough opening opponent.
“They’ve been knocking people out left and right, they’re well coached, and they have plenty of good Orange County athletes down there, Scates said. “They’ll be a good test for us.”
The Tritons have been a recent up-and-coming team, just missing the conference tournament last season with the Bruins finishing two matches ahead of them in the MPSF standings.
Things will not get any easier in the second game. The Bruins will either play No. 6 BYU or No. 2 UC Irvine, two teams ranked higher than the No. 8 Bruins.
“We will be underdogs the second round,” Scates said.
Because they will be playing in a double-header, Scates will have to gauge how long he will play his starters based on how long the first game lasts.
“It’s always interesting because some teams try to play their starters straight through,” Scates said. “It depends how the first game goes. If you can get three quick sets in the first game, then you’ll be rested enough, but if it goes four or five, then you’re going to have to rely on the bench.”
Because of UCLA’s depth, looking to the bench should not be a problem.
“Our middles are really strong, so we’ll be good there,” Scates said, adding that he plans on cycling through four quick hitters, sophomores Nick Vogel and Thomas Amberg, redshirt senior Brett Perine and redshirt sophomore Weston Dunlap.
He also highlighted the strong play of opposite Jonathan Bridgeman.
“We’re getting some depth because Bridgeman, a true freshman, is starting to play really well, so we have that depth now at opposite too,” Scates said.
With sophomore Kyle Caldwell switching over to the setter position this season, along with senior Kevin Ker, who has started a considerable number of matches the past three seasons, the Bruins possess a deep setting corps.
The team came back from its holiday break without their usual energy, which was evident to Caldwell in their five-set win against Winnipeg on Dec. 30.
“We had a lack of focus,” Caldwell said. “We played pretty good the first two (sets) and kind of let up in the third and fourth. You could see that we were kind of tired. We knew we should have won that game in three but we let it get by.”
Caldwell believes the Bruins have regained their focus, and are aware of the talent they will play against in Santa Barbara.
“We have a whole different focus,” he said. “We’re not playing Winnipeg anymore. We’re playing the top seeds. We’ve got to be on our game all the time, we can’t let anything go.”
In last year’s invitational, the Bruins went 1-2; they were swept by Cal State Northridge and UC Irvine but had a sweep of their own against Pacific.
Though the Bruins come into the tournament ranked considerably lower than their No. 2 standing a year ago, Scates believes he has the talent to win it all.
“It doesn’t matter where we’re ranked. I just want to win the NCAA championship,” Scates said. “All we have to do is peak at the end. I know how to peak the team. We have the personnel. If the personnel stay healthy, which is another big factor, we’ll be right there at the end, fighting for a championship.”
The Bruins last championship came in 2006.
None of the players currently on the Bruins’ roster played in the championship game, though several were on the team as redshirts.
In addition, UCLA opened its 2006 season after taking a team trip to Italy to face professional teams during September.