The UCLA men’s volleyball team is hitting its stride going into the final stretch of the season.
UCLA has slowly crept up in the rankings and standings quietly since late February, and following last Saturday’s sweep of No. 12 UC San Diego, the No. 5 Bruins (15-9, 8-8 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) are now on a seven-match winning streak with no intentions of slowing down.
“We had a pretty rough mid-season stretch but I think we have found a pretty solid lineup,” senior libero Tom Hastings said. “We are pretty darn good right now.”
“Pretty darn good” is somewhat of an understatement. The Bruins are averaging a .346 hitting percentage over the seven-match stretch while holding opponents to a miniscule .243 clip.
“Everyone is playing well and we have the talent here to compete against each other every day,” junior opposite hitter Kyle Caldwell said. “All that matters is who works hard, who works well with who and who is playing well. We’re doing it all right now.”
UCLA faces a tough challenge against No. 6 UC Irvine (13-11, 9-8), a team which the Bruins swept on Thursday at the last athletic event held at Pauley Pavilion.
The Anteaters, though, responded well to the loss by beating No. 7 Ohio State 3-0 thanks to some tremendous hitting from senior outside hitter Cody Yoder, who hit .560 for the game and committed no errors.
“Yoder is hitting over .400 on the season. Those numbers are only for middle hitters,” coach Al Scates said. “There is no outside hitter in the nation except Yoder with numbers like that.”
The Bruins have an ace of their own in redshirt junior quick hitter Weston Dunlap, who is leading the MPSF in hitting percentage with a .488 clip, 25 points higher than the second-ranked player.
Dunlap was recently named both the MPSF and American Volleyball Coaches Association National player of the week.
“Wes hits more balls than any other quick hitter in the nation,” Scates said. “We go to him a lot and other teams are starting to commit one or two guys to him, which is opening up the floor for the outside hitters. He has been huge for us this year.”
The UC Irvine match will have major-league implications, as UCLA is currently in eighth place in the MPSF, only half a game behind Irvine.
Were the season to end today, the Bruins would have to travel to No. 1 USC to take on the 16-1 Trojans.
“We’re sitting in eighth place with only a few games left,” Caldwell said. “If we win out, we should be able to advance ourselves in the playoffs and possibly get home court and if not, at least a higher seed.”