Men’s volleyball prepares to face USC, the nation’s top-ranked team, in Pauley Pavilion showdown
Senior libero Tom Hastings and the Bruins look to continue their success against the nation’s top teams when they take on USC at Pauley Pavilion today.
Men’s Volleyball
USC
Today, 7 p.m.
Pauley Pavilion
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No. 4 UCLA goes up against another MPSF power in rival USC, the nation's top team, today at Pauley Pavilion.
By Benjamin Kelly
Jan. 28, 2011 1:43 a.m.
The UCLA men’s volleyball team had many reasons to be happy Wednesday night after beating Pepperdine.
The match was a sweep, the blocking was sharp and junior setter Kyle Caldwell made his presence known.
But tonight, USC comes to Pauley Pavilion, and a win would be monumental for the Bruins. No other team has even come close to finding an answer for the explosive Trojan offense so far.
Coach Al Scates, like everyone else, is aware of the talent that his team faces.
“(USC’s) opposites are the best players in the country,” he said. “They have been crushing everybody. They are the unanimous No. 1 since the preseason poll. Everybody picks them to win the NCAA.”
The No. 4 Bruins (7-2, 2-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) are no strangers to top-notch competition. Each team they have played is currently ranked as one of the nation’s top 25, and the Bruins have easily dealt with most. But the No. 1 Trojans (5-0, 5-0) play on a level of their own. They aren’t just undefeated: They have won 15 of their 16 total sets in conference play and 40 of their 42 sets since the preseason.
Assistant coach Brian Rofer said that the Bruins must focus their energy on slowing down the Trojans’ senior opposite Murphy Troy and junior outside hitter Tony Ciarelli, two of the nation’s top players.
But the concise win over Pepperdine has UCLA headed in the right direction after a devastating five-set loss to Long Beach State.
“We’ve had great starts to all of our games so far, but in the past against Northridge and Long Beach State, we hadn’t been able to close it out in three, so finishing it with a sweep was big,” redshirt junior outside hitter Jeremy Casebeer said. “It’s great momentum going into (today).”
After last week’s matches, serving appeared to be UCLA’s biggest issue. The Bruins managed to do well on Wednesday, but 14 errors in three sets still bothered Scates. His team will have no room for error against USC. In its three matches in the Outrigger Hotels Invitational earlier this month, the team delivered 17 aces and 49 service errors over three matches, a nice ratio that it would love to find again.
On the defensive side, the Bruins have been tremendous. They lead the conference in blocking, and they were often impenetrable against the Waves.
“I think (the Pepperdine match) is a good example of what we can do ““ that is, serving and blocking,” senior libero Tom Hastings said. “It makes the opponents think more. … They start thinking about every shot, and if they think too much, then they’re dead.”
As it is every season, matches against USC are focal points of UCLA’s season.
“We’re not exactly friends; we know these guys pretty well,” Hastings said. “It’s probably going to get pretty chippy, and we’re ready for that. It’s going to be fun.”
