Men’s volleyball takes 3rd in UCSB tourney
Redshirt junior quick hitter Weston Dunlap and the Bruins won two out of three in the UCSB Invitational over the weekend.
Men's Volleyball
UCLA 3
Long Beach State 2
UCSB 3
UCLA 1
UCLA 3
UCSD 1
By Benjamin Kelly
Jan. 10, 2011 1:43 a.m.
The UCLA men’s volleyball team traveled to the UC Santa Barbara Invitational on Friday ready to earn some quality victories before conference play and came home with two wins and a loss for a third-place finish.
The result is especially impressive considering six of the eight teams were in the top 15 in the nation, and two of the Bruins’ leaders sat out with injuries.
UCLA began Friday’s competition in a matchup against UC San Diego, who the Bruins lost to the last time the teams faced each other. Thanks to a dominating serving game and only 13 errors, the Bruins won the match 3-1.
Redshirt junior opposite Jack Polales contributed nine kills, and redshirt junior setter Alex Scattareggia had four of the team’s nine aces.
“The serving was really phenomenal,” coach Al Scates said.
After the win, UCLA lost 3-1 to UCSB in the Bruins’ second Friday match.
With poor hitting and no answer for the Gauchos’ talented opposites, the Bruins suffered a 13-25 first-set loss.
UCLA stayed competitive thanks to redshirt junior quick hitter Weston Dunlap and redshirt junior outside hitter Jeremy Casebeer, and the team managed a 25-23 win in the second set. The Bruins lost the third and fourth with scores of 25-27 and 23-25.
“We just didn’t hit very well,” Scates said. “They’re a great team with a solid starting six, and we couldn’t stop them.”
Scates did note that he used 13 of his players in the match, giving some of them valuable game time and allowing him to notice any new combinations.
On Saturday, the UCLA squad faced Long Beach State in the most dramatic match of the tournament. The Bruins lost the first set after hitting just .107 against the 49ers’ .400 clip.
The second set went to the 49ers by a score of 20-25. Forced into a must-win situation, UCLA wrestled away the next game 25-19, and then the fourth 25-16. The Bruins took it all after winning the final set 15-13. They ended up hitting .273 for the match.
“We just got a lot of easy plays off of them,” Scates said. “We had 21 more swings in the end, and that’s why we won.”
Sophomore opposite hitter Jonathan Bridgeman, who usually sees limited action, had a standout match against Long Beach State, hitting two aces and six kills.
With the Outrigger Hotels Invitational in Hawaii beginning Thursday and the conference opener against Cal State Northridge on Jan. 19, the team waits for the recovery of three key players.
Junior quick hitter Thomas Amberg is expected to practice today; he saw a surgeon on Friday to splint his hand. Scates expects junior setter Kyle Caldwell, who injured his thumb in late December, to be ready by the CSUN match.
Freshman outside hitter Gonzalo Quiroga suffered an abdominal strain and did not play in the Long Beach State match as a precaution.
