UCLA men’s volleyball wins SAC Tournament
The UCLA men’s volleyball team came away as tournament winners at the annual SAC Tournament, which UCLA hosts.
By Belseen Alkhas
Nov. 25, 2013 2:51 a.m.
This weekend, the UCLA men’s volleyball team hosted the annual SAC Tournament, playing in three exhibition matches at the Student Activities Center. The tournament featured four men’s volleyball teams from the Mountain Pacific Sports
Federation: UCLA, USC, UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Northridge.
UCLA opened the tournament Friday night against crosstown rival USC. With their 3-0 loss at USC earlier this month in the USC Fall Tournament still fresh in their minds, the Bruins knew what was expected of them. UCLA returned the favor, defeating USC 25-15, 25-18, 25-18. Unofficial kill leaders for UCLA were senior outside hitters Robart Page with 22 Gonzalo Quiroga with 16.
“There are a lot of things we can improve. Siding out was good but we can get better. Passing too. But we still have a long way to go and this is just the start,” Quiroga said.
If Friday night showed the Bruins’ ability to dominate, then Saturday morning illustrated their resilience. After being down 2-0 to Cal State Northridge, UCLA rallied back, 25-19, 25-20, 21-19, winning 3-2.
“Complete buy-in from a great group of guys,” said assistant coach Brad Keller on the secret of his team’s success. “We’re a deep team that has a lot of great personalities that are meshing together.”
In its last game of the tournament, UCLA faced UC Santa Barbara. After starting 1-1, the Bruins took the final two games 25-23 and 25-17 to win both the match and the tournament.
When asked about NCAA aspirations, Page said, “I came here to win a championship and that’s what we’re going to do.”
UCLA’s next home game is scheduled for Dec. 31 against UBC Okanagan in Pauley Pavilion.
