UCLA men’s volleyball to play UCSD, hopes to end streak
According to freshman setter Hagen Smith, the key to preparing for UCSD is being “ready to move” on the court. Additionally, the team needs a sharper defense, according to team consensus.
(Jose Ubeda/Daily Bruin staff)
By Claire Fahy
March 7, 2014 1:22 a.m.
In the past week, everything that could go wrong for UCLA men’s volleyball has gone wrong. The team has been plagued by injuries, struggled with offensive production and failed to execute on defense. These factors have all added up to the longest losing streak of the season.
While these setbacks can account for the team’s recent struggles, the Bruins aren’t making any excuses by blaming their losses on injuries.
“Every team has a sprained ankle, or knee tendonitis, or shoulder injuries, or anything as they go through the course of the season,” said coach John Speraw. “Our job is just to make sure that we train up the guys that are on the court, make them better. As a coaching staff we have to do a better job. … We have good depth and we should be able to do that. We can still win volleyball matches when the other guys are hurt.”
UCLA hopes to break the streak Saturday night when it takes on UC San Diego in its first game in Pauley Pavilion since Feb. 14.
But the Bruins can no longer rely on their hitting alone to get the job done – recent losses have proven that UCLA must improve its defense if it wants to continue its campaign for a national championship.
“We just have to be prepared for the unexpected,” said freshman setter Hagen Smith. “We need to be thinking that no matter what, the ball is going to come over. We have to be … ready to move.”
The Bruins know what they’re doing wrong – the players and coaches all take responsibility for their failures on the court, especially in the defensive realm – but the question is: Can they can fix the issues they are experiencing in time to beat UCSD?
“The past couple games we’ve let teams bully us around and make us play their games so we’ve got to get back in the practice gym and start working really hard,” said freshman outside hitter Michael Fisher.“We’ve got to take UCSD – we’ve got to take them on and we’ve got to beat them.”
UCSD has yet to win a game against a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation team, making it the bottom-ranked team in the league. While a loss to the Tritons seems improbable, it would undoubtedly cost the Bruins greatly in league rankings at a point in the season when every game has postseason ramifications.
“We need to really take a look at what we’re doing offensively – passing, setting, attacking,” Speraw said. “Our offensive numbers have taken a real hit over the last couple of weeks so we’re going to need to spend some time figuring out why.”
Saturday night will prove whether or not they’ve had enough time.
