The UCLA men’s volleyball seniors were honored before the
start of the Bruins’ match against Cal State Northridge on
Wednesday night at Senior Night in the John Wooden Center.
But it was not the Bruins’ last match at home because with
their 3-0 win over No. 5 CSUN, the No. 3 Bruins clinched the
homecourt advantage for the first round of the MPSF playoffs.
“Home court advantage is quite important,” UCLA
coach Al Scates said. “Now Pepperdine or Hawai’i has to
come here.”
The Bruins (22-5, 16-5 MPSF) won 30-22, 30-25, 33-31, in a
largely defensive match ““ UCLA hit only .228, but limited
CSUN (19-9, 13-8 MPSF) to a meager .130 hitting clip. Both teams
had 19 blocks.
“We are all very happy that our blocking improved,”
senior opposite J.T. Wenger said.
UCLA had a relatively easy time containing CSUN in the first two
games, but the third game was a different story. The Bruins took a
29-28 lead on a Jonathan Acosta kill, but the Matadors took the
next two points to retake the lead.
UCLA pulled ahead 32-31 on a service error by Brian Waite, and
closed out the match on a block by freshman opposite Steve
Klosterman.
“That’s why I put (Klosterman) in,” Scates
said. “He was blocking well.”
UCLA was led by junior outside hitter Kris Kraushaar, who had 11
kills and four blocks. Junior middle blocker Paul Johnson had eight
kills, nine blocks and hit .429.
Waite led the Matadors with 10 kills and seven blocks.
“It wasn’t a great match,” said senior middle
blocker Chris Peña, who had seven kills. “But we did
what we needed to do. Guys are feeling fresh, our work in the
weight room has paid off. The match was good practice. I feel like
I just went through a half practice.”
The ceremony honoring the seniors was a brief affair. Players
took pictures with Scates and their families.
“Senior Day is nice,” Peña said. “I
remember when they did it, and I was a freshman. It’s small
and brief, and I like it like that.”
The Bruins face UC Santa Barbara this Saturday in Santa Barbara
for their last match of the regular season. The first round of the
MPSF playoffs will take place at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, April
24.
Of their two possible first-round playoff opponents ““
Pepperdine and Hawai’i ““ the Bruins fared better
against the Waves this season, winning both their matches.