Men’s volleyball returns home for rematch against No. 8 UCSB

The last time UCLA men’s volleyball played UC Santa Barbara, it watched as the 2014 season slipped away.

Already up 2-1 in last April’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament Quarterfinals, the Bruins held a commanding 14-7 lead over the Gauchos in the fourth set.

That was as close as they would get.

Just mere points away from moving on, they ran into a UCSB team that refused to go away, eventually forcing a fifth set before eliminating UCLA in a thrilling, heartbreaking fashion.

Starting with Friday night, however, the Bruins have a chance to get some revenge on their way toward another hopeful playoff run.

“Last year’s loss is going to spur us on to try a lot harder for sure. Not that we don’t try, but we’re gonna reach deep down and get them from a place of comeback,” said redshirt freshman Eric Sprague. “For now we’re focusing on how we’re executing our game plan and how we can have a tough mental game.”

No. 11 UCLA (6-4, 2-4 MPSF) and No. 8 UCSB (7-5, 3-5 MPSF) are having similar seasons so far in 2015. Other than two games against Hawaii, UCSB has faced the same schools as UCLA and both teams sit next to each other in the bottom half of the MPSF standings.

After going undefeated in non-conference matches, the Bruins and the Gauchos have struggled to get their footing in league play. Friday night will offer a chance for either team to win back-to-back conference matches for the first time this year.

“At this point in the season, there’s still so much to continue to work on,” said coach John Speraw. “I think the only aspect of our game so far that has gotten to the point that I’ve been happy about it is our block. It will continue to improve, of course, but other than that everything is up for improvement.”

UCLA had a season-high 34 block assists – blocks when more than one blocker is up – in its 3-1 win over Cal State Northridge last Friday. Sophomore middle blocker Mitch Stahl paced the team with a career-best nine assists while freshman outside hitter Jake Arnitz and freshman setter Eric Matheis each added six.

UCLA has also been working on its mental focus in addition to improving plays, Speraw said. Early deficits have doomed the Bruins so far this season. The team’s opponents have been the first to five points in 11 out of 21 MPSF sets and the team has failed to come back in any of them, losing all 11.

“Once things start going in a downward direction we kind of stay reserved on the court,” Matheis said. “When things stop going our way – it’s true for any team but especially us right now – we need to keep going, keep being strong.”