The UCLA men’s volleyball team, still suffering from its
championship defeat to Pepperdine in May, has started its season
anew with a two-week trip to Italy from Sept. 10 to 27.
The trip, which includes 11 matches against some of the top
competition in Italy, will provide an early beginning for what is
expected to be a major rebuilding season for the Bruins this
year.
The Bruins lost their top four hitters from last year’s
national runner-up team, and also lose starting setter Gaby
Acevedo, who has since transferred to the University of Puerto
Rico.
“We know we have a young team, but they will gain a lot
from the trip,” UCLA coach Al Scates said. “We’ve
already had 10 days of practice, and I’ve been impressed with
some of the improvements the guys have made.”
New to the starting lineup for the Bruins this season are David
Russell, Paul George, Beau Peters, and Jamie Diefenbach, all of
whom saw limited or no playing time just a year ago.
They will try to replace the production of graduating seniors
All-American Paul Johnson, and outside hitters Jonathan Acosta and
Kris Kraushaar. Each of the players were named either
all-tournament or all-MPSF performers a year ago.
“We lost a large part of our hitting this season, but that
happens every year,” Scates said. “I prefer to say that
we are reloading, rather than rebuilding.”
Besides the players who have graduated, missing from the trip
are outside hitter Steve Klosterman, who underwent surgery on his
shoulder over the summer, and two of UCLA’s heralded
freshmen, Matt Wade and Sean O’Malley.
The freshmen are not allowed to take part in the trip because
then the NCAA count the trip towards the team’s allocated
preseason practice time ““ and the Bruins did not want to lose
it.
“Its unfortunate that our freshman will not be able to
play,” Scates said. “But the training time in October
and November is very vital to our team, and we can’t afford
to have that reduced.”
The Bruins’ trip this September is their ninth trip
overseas, and is part of an NCAA program that allow teams to travel
overseas every four years.
The Bruins are currently the only men’s collegiate
volleyball team that travels abroad and they are required to raise
all the funding for the trip.
The Bruins have traveled to Korea, Norway and Taiwan, but Italy
has the most competitive league of all the countries the Bruins
have been to so far.
“I think it’s a great experience for the players to
face the best competition in the world,” Scates said.
“Unfortunately, not all teams can afford to do this, but we
work hard to get all the funding ourselves.”
Milan, Verona, Pordenone, and Florence are some of the cities
the Bruins will be either traveling to or playing in. They will be
competing against teams in Italy’s top three professional
leagues, A2, B1 and B2, with A2 being the most competitive
league.
Along with tough competition, the Bruins will be able to attend
sightseeing tours to some of the famous monuments in Italy.
“It’s obviously nice that the players get to enjoy
the area a little bit,” Scates said. “But, in the end,
we are there to play volleyball, and I plan to learn as much about
the players as possible.”
The trip lasts 17 days, and 13 of them are spent playing
matches. Some of the UCLA alumni who will visit the Bruins on the
trip include Chris Pena, Brennan Prahler and Marcin Jagoda, all of
whom are playing professional volleyball in Europe.
It all leads up to a very busy and structured trip that Scates
believes will be beneficial to his team.
“The players can get a taste of what it is like to play in
professional leagues,” Scates said. “So many of my
former players have gone on to play professionally, that it is just
the logical next step for them,” he added.