IRVINE “”mdash; UCLA’s win against UC Irvine on Friday
night proved that the Bruins weren’t allowing anyone to get
past them a third time.
Though surrounded by Anteater support in Crawford Hall, the
Bruins only fed off the crowd’s enthusiasm, avenging their
earlier losses against the Anteaters with a 3-1 victory.
No. 9 UCLA (12-9, 8-7 MPSF) made its third go-around against No.
4 Irvine (15-6, 8-6) look decidedly easier than the two five-set
nail-biters which ended in defeat. UCLA won by a final score of
30-27, 24-30, 30-19, 30-25.
“It was a big win for us tonight,” outside hitter
Jonathan Acosta said. “We just needed to come out and play
well against them, and keep up with our momentum.”
UCLA hit an impressive .407 average to UCI’s .254, and
out-blocked UCI 12-5. Quick hitter Chris Peña led the Bruins
with 18 kills and seven blocks, often pushing UCLA into the lead as
he kept the Bruins’ play consistent throughout the match.
Freshman Matt McKinney returned as starting opposite from a
break in play (due to tendonitis) and contributed 15 kills and 13
digs. Senior captain Rich Nelson came onto the court as starting
setter and followed through with 54 set assists.
“I’ve been in kind of a funk,” Nelson said.
“But we were in a groove tonight, and we played our best.
Tonight is the first time in a while that I’ve been able to
play to the best of my abilities. “
“We lit the fire under the starters last week when we had
the second team playing against Lewis, just to show that any one of
us could play well out there,” head coach Al Scates said.
“All of the starters scored and played well tonight.
“
Scates also introduced a few new tactics into the match. In the
middle of the second game, the Bruins implemented a positions
switch between setter and opposite in an attempt to regain the
lead. Meanwhile, they focused on communication between the blockers
and the back row to establish better defense.
“UCI is a good team, but we followed our game plan, served
in, and played a good defense,” libero Adam Shrader said.
“And (the crowd) really fires you up and makes you expect
more from the game. We wish we had that for our team.”
The enthusiasm also came from within the court itself. Outside
hitter Gray Garrett opposed high school teammate and Anteater
outside hitter Spencer Bemus.
“(Spencer) is one of my best friends, and it’s
always fun to play against him and compete against one of my
brothers,” Garrett said.
“It was a great atmosphere. It was really enthusiastic all
around, and it makes a difference to us. This is the best
we’ve played all season,” Scates said.
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UCLA returns to Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to play
Concordia in a non-conference match.