With only two games left in the regular season, the UCLA
men’s volleyball team still has one of its toughest and most
important matches left to play.
In a match that holds postseason implications for both teams,
the No. 1 Bruins will travel to No. 4 Long Beach State tonight,
where they have not won a match in three years.
If UCLA wins and league-leading Pepperdine loses one of its next
two matches, the Bruins will play every postseason game at home.
However, if the Bruins fall to the 49ers, they will lose the chance
of having home court advantage in the semifinals of the MPSF
playoffs. There also may be a strong possibility that the UCLA will
face Long Beach State again in the semifinals if it loses
tonight.
“I would like to win league and play at home throughout
the playoffs, which is a possibility,” UCLA coach Al Scates
said. “That would be nice if Pepperdine lost, but we’re
just looking to win the last two and see what happens.”
With recent wins over Hawaii, Pepperdine and BYU, all of which
are ranked in the nation’s top six, Long Beach State poses
the greatest challenge UCLA has faced in the last month.
“They have a good home court advantage, and they’re
hot right now,” Scates said. “We both hit about the
same and are good attacking teams, and I just see this as a very
good match.
“We blew them out in our place, but they’re playing
a lot better than they were playing when we faced them
last.”
The Bruins realize that they are playing a much improved Long
Beach State team, and understand that they need to play
accordingly.
“It doesn’t matter that we’ve beaten them
twice (this season), because this is a completely different
match,” senior Jonathan Acosta said. “We need to put up
a big block and worry about playing well ourselves.”
Led by setter Tyler Hildebrand, who sits atop the nation in set
assists and was last week’s AVCA National Player of the Week,
the 49ers also boasts one of the best hitters in the country in
Duncan Budinger, who is hitting .440.
The 49ers’ top player, though, is Robert Tarr, who is one
of the nation’s leaders in kills per game.
“Tarr is their guy, and shutting him down will be a key to
the game,” Scates said. “Long Beach almost won the
national championship last year, so we know they’re a good
team.”
UNCERTAIN LINEUP: Despite having only two more regular season
games left, the Bruins’ lineup is still changing from game to
game. With junior David Russell’s strong play last weekend
against UC Santa Barbara, the quick hitter position remains
undecided between him and senior Allan Vince. And at the opposite
position, both sophomore Steve Klosterman, who missed
yesterday’s practice with what he believes is food poisoning,
and junior Damien Scott continue to jostle for the starting
bid.
While some on the team dislike the uncertain lineup, senior Paul
Johnson sees it as beneficial.
“Everyone is playing awesome, and there is much more
competition on the team with different starters each game,”
Johnson said. “Competition helps the team because everyone is
forced to improve.”