All the UCLA men’s volleyball team needed on Friday night
was a little extra encouragement.
Down 21-13 in the third game against crosstown rival USC, and in
danger of falling behind two games to one, it would have been easy
for the Bruins to let the match slip away.
Yet, sparked by the 1,313 fans who shook venerable Pauley
Pavilion, UCLA reeled off a 10-3 run, propelling them to a 36-34
game-three victory. The Bruins then went on to dominate the fourth
game and defeat the Trojans for the 12th consecutive time, 30-27,
24-30, 36-34, 30-27.
“The crowd was really loud even when we were down,”
sophomore Steve Klosterman said. “We drew off their energy
and were able to come back to win.”
The fans were already into the match midway through the third
game when setter Gaby Acevedo encouraged them to take it up a
notch. The redshirt freshman was given a warning when he incited
the home crowd to get even louder.
“The fans were such a big part of the comeback,”
Acevedo said. “Last year the crowd wasn’t so into the
game, but this year the crowd was into it even when we
weren’t playing at our highest level. With their support, I
knew we would win.”
The Game 3 comeback might never have happened, however, if it
wasn’t for some timely substitutions by UCLA coach Al
Scates.
Replacing ineffective starters Jonathan Acosta and Steve
Klosterman, Scates used a new offensive rotation that included
reserves Damien Scott and Paul George. The team also received key
contributions from back-up setter Dennis Gonzalez.
Together, the lineup led the Bruins on a 14-5 run that resulted
in UCLA getting its first lead in the third game.
“We were out of rhythm for a while,” Klosterman
said, “But at the end of the third game we started serving
better, blocking harder, and got back into a good
rhythm.”
Yet once the Bruins took the lead, the Trojans did not go away
easily. They fought hard to the end, tying the game eight times
after UCLA had pulled ahead, but the Bruins made the plays when
they needed to in the end.
“The team played with a lot of heart,” Scates said.
“We were able to make a rare comeback and pull out of Game 3
successfully.”
UCLA’s momentum carried over into the fourth game, which
was controlled by senior leaders Paul Johnson and Allan Vince.
Johnson (.552) had four total blocks and totaled 23 points, a
team-high for the season, while Vince slammed 10 kills in only 17
attempts (.529).
The performance, however, was far from flawless. In the first
two games, the Bruins amassed 16 service errors and four serve
reception errors, which are both more than double their season
average.
“This was the worst serving performance we’ve had
all year,” Scates said.