Men’s volleyball hopes to end losing streak with UC Santa Barbara matchup

They say home is where the heart is ““ and the UCLA men’s volleyball team hopes it can find a win there, too.

The Bruins are on a three-game losing streak following last weekend’s sweep in Provo, Utah, at the hands of the No. 2 Brigham Young Cougars.

“It’s been a tough season so far, but we’ve been in control of every game we lost, and we’ve blown them,” senior libero Tom Hastings said. “We have to execute at the end of games and take some big swings. We need to step up.”

UCLA (7-5, 2-4 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) is looking to get back on its feet against No. 7 UC Santa Barbara (6-5, 4-4), a team it lost to in early January at the UCSB Invitational.

“Our only league losses are to the top three teams in the nation with USC being No. 1 and BYU and Long Beach being tied for No. 2,” coach Al Scates said. “Santa Barbara is right behind us though, so we know that this is a big game for us.”

The Gauchos have plenty of seasoned talent stockpiled this season, including their 6-foot-7-inch senior middle blocker Scott Slaughter, who currently has a hitting percentage of more than 0.500, and senior outside hitter Cullen Irons, who leads the Gauchos with 141 kills.

“Their team is a lot like ours in that they have a lot of older guys who we’ve played with since we were little,” redshirt junior setter Alex Scattareggia said. “They are a really strong team with a great offense. They’re just a solid team.”

Both Slaughter and Irons will be forces to be reckoned with, as Slaughter delivered 11 kills against the Bruins in January on a 0.562 hitting percentage. Irons finished with 18 kills and four service aces.

“Slaughter is one of the best quick hitters in the nation,” Scates said. “Plus they have a couple of great outside hitters who can light it up. Sometimes they take turns, sometimes both of them explode, so we’re going to have to watch out for that.”

The Bruins pack a punch of their own with their quick hitters, with the emergence of redshirt junior Weston Dunlap this season, and the steady play of junior Thomas Amberg. Junior Nick Vogel, who is just starting to get healthy from a sore hitting shoulder, provides support off the bench.

This sort of depth is a staple for UCLA, which makes starting lineups a game-to-game surprise. The team has a constant rotation in practice where Scates mixes and matches players to see which combinations create the best result.

“We lost a few in a row here, and these guys are working hard,” Scates said. “When we lose, every position is up for grabs, and everybody wants to be on that starting team.”

This match is big for the Bruins; a win would put them back on track toward competing for the MPSF title while dropping the Gauchos, who are currently fifth in the MPSF, to 4-5 in league play.

“It’s good we got the losses out of the way early,” Scattareggia said. “We’re going to try and move forward and maintain our goal to win league.”