Even as the score went final and both teams started walking off the court, the sold-out crowd at Crawford Hall couldn’t seem to grasp reality.
UCLA left everyone in attendance shell-shocked as it swept the No. 1 team in the nation, UC Irvine, in the team’s own gym.
The No. 3 Bruins’ (20-5, 14-4 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) win came on the heels of a disheartening 3-1 loss against lowly No. 13 UC San Diego (8-16, 6-13) the night before.
“It was really quite the emotional swing. We were probably at one of our lowest points of the season last night as a team,” senior quick hitter Thomas Amberg said.
The team that looked in total disarray the previous night was more in sync against the Anteaters (19-4, 15-4) than they had been all season.
UCLA’s quick turnaround can largely be attributed to the presence of senior setter Kyle Caldwell, who was forced to sit out against UCSD with an injured Achilles tendon.
“We never had another setter on the floor all year besides Kyle, and that’s a huge adjustment to go from one setter to another,” coach Al Scates said.
It showed as the Bruins’ attack looked nowhere near as potent as usual in the loss against UCSD.
However, Caldwell returned the next night along with UCLA’s firepower.
“Kyle really stepped up big and came out and toughed it up through an Achilles strain,” Amberg said. “We really missed him last night, and for him to just come out, give it his all, and leave it all on the court tonight against UC Irvine ““ that gave us the difference we needed to play, and we kind of rallied around him.”
In two previous losses to UC Irvine this season, the Bruins struggled with passing en route to subpar hitting percentages of .242 and .276, respectively.
This time around the Bruins hit .378 behind improved passing in a nearly flawless execution.
“I think coming off that tough loss (to UCSD) everybody was really focused, so we were able to get the ball into the right areas,” Caldwell said.
“Once our passing’s in rhythm, we have so many options on offense that it’s hard to slow us down when everyone’s firing. And everyone tonight was putting the ball away, so it made it difficult for the other team to read what we were doing.”
By securing their biggest win of the season, the Bruins are now in a four-way tie for losses in the conference with BYU, Irvine and USC, with each squad at four losses apiece.
This means that UCLA controls its own destiny: If the Bruins win their remaining four games, they will win earn the conference crown.