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UCLA men’s volleyball to focus on consistency against Long Beach State

By Vidur Malik

Feb. 25, 2010 10:03 p.m.

After a disappointing loss earlier in the week, the men’s volleyball team is looking for a much-needed dose of energy.

The No. 3 Bruins (9-7, 8-5 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) take on No. 9 Long Beach State (7-6, 5-4) tonight, after suffering a three-set loss against UC San Diego on Wednesday.

Coach Al Scates said the match tonight is one the Bruins can win.

“This is a team that we should be able to beat,” he said.

The Bruins are currently one spot ahead of the sixth-place 49ers in the conference standings, but UCLA lost both its matches to Long Beach State last season.

Scates also stressed that he needs to see more consistent play from his team on its home court.

“We can’t have these peaks and valleys, we have to be steady,” Scates said. “It’s odd that we played so well on the road, with the exception of Stanford, and we’re up and down like a yo-yo at home. I can’t explain it.”

The Bruins are 5-1 on the road but just 3-4 at home. And with Long Beach fresh off a five-set win over defending NCAA champion UC Irvine, the Bruins will need to shake off the San Diego loss.

“It’s going to be another tough one. Obviously they’re better than UCSD, so we have to bring our A game and more if we want to win,” senior outside hitter Garrett Muagututia said. “I think if we just have some kind of heart and want to play, I think we’ll be all right.”

The 49ers are led by senior opposite Dean Bittner, who is fourth in the MPSF in kills per game with 5.04. Scates plans to key in on Bittner.

“Apparently he’s the hardest guy to stop in our league, so we’ll be focusing on him, which means our right-side blocking has to be really good,” Scates said. “It has to be a lot better than it was (against UCSD), that’s for sure.”

UCLA will also look to the 49ers middles. Junior Antwain Aguillard leads the MPSF in hitting percentage with a .524 clip, and senior Dan Alexander is second in service aces with .39 per game.

Freshman opposite Jonathan Bridgeman, who was one of the few bright spots for the Bruins in their loss to UCSD, said the Bruins’ blocking against Long Beach State will be essential.

“Work on blocking and follow their gameplan better,” Bridgeman said. “I don’t know much about Long Beach, but I know they’re a solid team.”

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