There are a lot of words to describe the men’s volleyball squad that UCLA is putting on the court this year: Youth, talent and promise are just a few that come to mind.
As last week revealed, no player embodies those words better than redshirt sophomore Jamie Diefenbach.
Last Friday night not only provided a great team performance for No. 8 UCLA (5-6, 3-5) to sweep No. 9 Hawai’i (2-6, 2-4) in three games, but also acted as a showcase for Diefenbach to display his abilities.
The Newport Beach native looks up to Dennis Rodman for his loud play, but put up numbers over the weekend that speak for themselves.
His hitting was superb, as he posted a team-leading 17 kills in three games, many of which finished off key points for the Bruins. His 0.542 attack percentage and strong blocking proved to be exactly what the team needed.
Diefenbach’s contribution was a big reason that the Bruins were able to come away with the victory.
“He played amazing,” said teammate Steve Klosterman, who added 15 kills of his own Friday night. “He was bouncing balls on people ““ I’ve never seen him hit some of the shots he hit tonight. He was playing the smart game along with the power game, and he had some key blocks in there too.”
UCLA coach Al Scates agreed with Klosterman, noting that Diefenbach was a big part of the team.
“He’s where he would’ve been (in) early January had he trained with us in the fall, but now he’s up to speed,” Scates said, referring to Diefenbach’s decision to practice with the basketball team in the fall. “He’s blocking pretty well; he’s hitting very well.”
Diefenbach is currently hitting 0.350 on the year with 93 kills, making him one of the highest contributors on the team. But from the perspective of this sophomore quick hitter, it’s not about one player ““ it’s about doing your best to contribute to the team as a whole.
“Everybody came out there and brought the fire; I just tried to be as excited and energetic as I could,” Diefenbach said. “Back row, Tony (Ker) and (Paul) George did a great job passing the ball, Matt Wade was doing an incredible job setting, and I just did my best out there. The team played really well today.”
The Bruins are hoping to bank on the momentum from their two convincing wins over Hawai’i. Before taking on the Rainbow Warriors, UCLA had fallen to Pepperdine and USC at home, but with improved performance the Bruins are hoping to put even more distance between themselves and their tough losses.
If Diefenbach keeps up his outstanding play, the Bruins may see more success at Pauley Pavilion this week against Pacific and Stanford, two conference teams that the Bruins are eager to defeat and keep the momentum rolling.
“Pacific is a really good squad. Stanford is kind of young but they will be very well coached,” Diefenbach said.
“We just need to come out here and play Bruin volleyball and do our best. I’m really excited and looking forward to it,” he said.