Amid a momentum-changing 6-0 run by No. 3 Pepperdine during the
second game of Wednesday night’s match, UCLA men’s
volleyball coach Al Scates peered down his bench, looking for
someone to stem the tide.
And he found his answer in the most unlikely of places: junior
reserve Damien Scott.
Having played in only two games all season prior to Wednesday
night’s showdown, Scott entered the game for UCLA’s
leading hitter Jonathan Acosta and quickly turned a two-point Bruin
deficit into a two-point Bruin lead.
With Scott’s energy, the Bruins won the game and match,
dealing the Waves their first loss of the season 30-18, 30-21,
30-27. The win solidified UCLA as the nation’s No. 1
team.
“The victory was huge,” senior Paul Johnson said.
“The fact that we can come out and sweep the No. 3 team says
a lot about our team.”
Even more telling about the Bruins’ depth and versatility
was how Scott played.
The junior hit for an incredible .750 hitting percentage and
finished with six kills in eight swings.
“Damien was amazing tonight,” Scates said. “He
gave us so much energy off the bench, and I just couldn’t
take him out.”
Scott was surprised with his insertion into the lineup.
“I didn’t expect it at all,” Scott said. My
usual responsibility is to pass the ball, but I was definitely
thrilled with the opportunity to play.”
Scott’s contributions led to a great hitting effort by the
entire team.
The Bruins (6-0, 2-0 MPSF) combined for a .385 hitting
percentage against one of the best blocking teams in the country
and recorded only 14 hitting errors.
“If you let them (Pepperdine) know where you’re
going with the ball, you have no chance,” Scates said.
“But I thought we did a really good job of spreading the sets
around.”
Sophomore Steve Klosterman and middle blocker Johnson were the
leaders for the Bruins’ attack, each finishing with 13 kills
on the night.
But their best contributions may have been on defense.
The Bruins’ combined defense held Pepperdine’s top
hitter, Sean Rooney, to a .222 hitting percentage. The rest of the
Waves (2-1, 2-1) didn’t fare much better, only hitting at a
.202 clip.
“Rooney is the best hitter in the nation,” Scates
said. “We sent our best blocker at him all night and did an
excellent job.”
For most of the night, that best blocker was Johnson.
The senior finished with four blocks and had one of his most
inspired efforts of the season.
“We spent two days of practice solely on defending
him,” Johnson said. “I think our hard work definitely
showed.”
That hard work has propelled the Bruins to victories over two
top-five teams already this season.
“I think that is the difference between this year and
last,” Johnson said.”We can have anyone come off the
bench and contribute for us.”
“Damien was just another example of that
tonight.”
The Bruins next play Friday against their rivals USC, a team
they have defeated 10 consecutive times.
After that, the Bruins go on their most important road trip of
the season, when they will face the defending national champions
and currently second-ranked BYU.
While in Utah, the Bruins are hoping they can find another
player off the bench that will lead them to victory as Scott did on
Wednesday.