With such an unsteady lineup and an inability to win important matches, the Bruins have been struggling all season to build momentum.
Now in the final weeks of the season, the No. 9 UCLA men’s volleyball team (12-13, 8-10 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) is starting to come together after taking its second match against visiting No. 13 Hawai’i (6-17, 3-15) in four sets, 25-30, 31-29, 30-23, 30-22.
“We were having fun out there for a change,” coach Al Scates said.
With the return of a high-energy player in redshirt senior quick hitter Jamie Diefenbach and a dominating finish, the UCLA bench showed a liveliness that has been absent all season.
Their dominance in the final two sets came after a slow first set, where Hawai’i seemed to outplay the Bruins in every way, including outhitting UCLA .440 to .250.
Junior outside hitter Garrett Muagututia, who has not had an all-around productive game since spraining his ankle about seven weeks ago, turned his play around in the second set.
“(Garrett) got energized,” Scates said. “He was explosive. He was running the combinations well. He was passing great, served for a lot of points.”
After a weak-hitting first set where he made four kills with two errors for a .250 clip, Muagututia lit up the board and helped lead UCLA to three wins. In the next three sets, Muagututia recorded 16 kills and only one error for a .517 clip. Muagututia also spread out on the court, making four set assists and five digs.
“I hadn’t seen him play this well for quite a while, and if he gets healthy, he’ll really help us make a strong run deep in the playoffs, maybe go all the way,” Scates said.
Diefenbach added that, with Muagututia’s energy, the whole Bruin squad intensified its play.
“It just started to come together,” Diefenbach said. “Our blocking picked up and we got some good momentum and we were able to ride it out.”
The momentum gained from the two wins will be critical in the four final matches of the season. Diefenbach said the team’s late-season surge reminds him of the 2006 national championship team, to which he was a major contributor.
With this win, UCLA is currently in sole possession of seventh place. The 2006 national championship team also entered the MPSF Tournament as the seventh seed.
“It’s absolutely crucial for us to start playing the best volleyball we can,” Diefenbach said. “This is the right time of year to starting peaking. We are just trying to keep getting better in practice and use these wins as momentum.”
TWO PLAYERS OUT FOR SEASON: Freshman Kyle Caldwell, who has been a major contributor at opposite this season, will not return for the rest of the year after injuring his thumb in the March 27 match against Brigham Young.
Sophomore Weston Dunlap will not play this season after suffering a stress fracture in early January. Dunlap, who was supposed to start at quick hitter this season, has been trying to return for several weeks now but will end up redshirting this season. Dunlap will retain a year of eligibility and start next season as a sophomore.