Rebounding UCLA men’s volleyball team to face UCSB in MPSF quarterfinal

For most teams entering the playoffs, in which all it takes is one loss to dash all hopes of a successful postseason, the pressure can be a debilitating factor. For the UCLA men’s volleyball team however, it feels it has already overcome one of the playoff’s greatest challenges – fear.

Just two weeks ago, after a devastating five-set loss to Cal State Northridge, UCLA’s hopes of receiving a playoff berth weren’t just in doubt – they were downright unlikely. That anxiety spurred the team to claim its last two games of the season against top-ranked opponents, including an upset victory over BYU in its final conference matchup.

Now the team looks to carry this momentum into its Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament quarterfinal matchup with UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.`

“A lot of times a big change in mentality happens when you start reaching games when it’s win or go home,” said freshman middle blocker Eric Sprague. “We’ve already reached that point and we were able to succeed, so we’re already ready and we’ve already kind of passed one of the big hurdles that affect most teams.”

Throughout the season, the Bruins’ focus has been a major topic of discussion surrounding the team. During their season-opening nine-game win streak, they largely attributed their early success to their mental fortitude.

However, during their midseason slump, in which they lost seven of nine games before rebounding to close out the season, their psychological advantage seemed to abandon them. Now that the team is back on track, the Bruins are hoping their mindset is too.

“We had a huge team discussion about the change in mindset for playoffs, because some people consider it a risk or fear losing because you know that once you lose, you’re done,” said freshman outside hitter Jake Reeves. “But we’ve already been in that situation so it’s like we already have that experience going into it and now we know what we have to do.”

It seems that UCLA is hitting its stride just in time to make a major postseason push, as the team has finally settled on a successful lineup and has returned to firing on all cylinders.

“We’ve been playing great volleyball the last three games … I feel like we’re siding out really good,” said senior outside hitter Gonzalo Quiroga. “Now we have a true opposite (in senior Spencer Rowe), Robbie’s been playing really good, the quick hitters are siding out – so I feel that we’re looking really good, but still Santa Barbara’s a great team and it’s really hard to play them at home.”