With men’s basketball falling out of championship contention and Bruins everywhere searching for a team that could take No. 100 this season, inevitably eyes fall on a select few sports: water polo, gymnastics, golf, tennis and baseball.
And then there is men’s volleyball.
After an unprecedented 19th NCAA Championship last year, the most storied program in all of men’s volleyball history is setting itself up for another run at the title this year.
Last year’s road to the championship was one of the most magical and memorable streaks in all of college sports. Down 0-2 to USC in last year’s Kilgour Cup, the Bruins fought back to win and began a 14-match winning streak that brought the 98th NCAA title to Westwood. Had UCLA lost that game to USC, the Bruins would have been in ninth place in the conference and would not have made the playoffs altogether. Their overall record of 26-12 meant the most losses ever by an NCAA champion.
“I have to attribute it all to work ethic,” captain Paul George said of last year’s success. “Last year’s team had a bunch of guys who had gone through the program, spent their time on the wrong side of the curtain, if you will, worked hard forever in the weight room, and just grinded. We worked hard all offseason. … A lot of other teams don’t do that. They get tired around this time of the season when we were just peaking.”
UCLA graduated a few very important seniors last year including middle blockers Nick Scheftic and David Russell. Both players provided a strong blocking presence that has been sorely missed this season. However, the return of seniors George and Steve Klosterman has been key for UCLA.
Klosterman, last year’s Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Championship, is a huge offensive weapon and is this year’s hot hitter. George, who replaced departed senior Damien Scott as captain of the Bruins, has been the cornerstone of this young team and its fearless leader. Combine that with a few other returning veterans, a lot of young blood, and the legendary coach Al Scates, and you have this year’s Bruin squad.
They may have started off slow, but the Bruins have gained momentum month by month and are 14-4 since the end of January. And after Friday night, the Bruins proved to all their critics that anything is possible.
Against second-ranked UC Irvine, a team that has already swept them twice this season, the Bruins were able to come back from a 0-2 deficit and win in five games. Before Irvine, the Bruins were 1-5 on the season facing teams that were ranked higher than them (excluding Pepperdine, who beat UCLA in five games while they both held the No. 5 ranking). However, UCLA has been steadily getting better, and beating Irvine on Friday was a big step in the right direction.
“Last year that ‘SC game really kicked us off and got us on our way,” George said. “Irvine is a very good team, a much better team than ‘SC was last year. To beat a team like Irvine, it speaks volumes about our team and the hard work these guys have put in and it gives us a lot of hope.”
So comes the question on everyone’s mind: Could it happen again? Could the Bruins go on another magnificent run and bring to Westwood the 100th NCAA title that everyone is waiting for?
If they want to do so, they will have to go through some tough competition, especially from within their own MPSF conference. Top-ranked Pepperdine recently captured another MPSF regular season title with a stunning record of 23-1 and 11-0 on the road.
As of April 2, the top five teams nationally, including UCLA, are all in the MPSF ““ Pepperdine, Irvine, BYU and UC Santa Barbara. All of those teams have been able to defeat UCLA this season, each opponent’s roster is loaded with depth, and the Bruins could face any of them in the postseason.
“We’ll have to go through Santa Barbara, most likely at their place,” Scates said. “Then we’ll have to beat Pepperdine at their place. … Then we’ll have to play the winner or probably BYU/Irvine … and then we’ll probably have to beat Penn State in the semis and probably Ohio State at home. Things are shaping up very similar to last year at this point.”
For now, the team just wants to focus on improvement.
“We just have to keep getting better at everything,” George said. “We’ve been working hard in the gym and practice. (We have to) keep grinding on the serving, keep grinding on the blocking, and the rest of it will follow I think. … Making sure we have the right attitude, that frame of mind that says “˜Alright, we’ve got just seven matches left, let’s win them all.'”
Anything could happen in the postseason for this UCLA team. But one thing is always for sure: You can never count out Bruin men’s volleyball.