Men’s volleyball offensive game aims to serve up victory against UCSB
Freshman setter/hitter Micah Ma’a currently has a season hitting percentage of .319, with 158 kills. (Hannah Ye/Daily Bruin senior staff)
Men’s volleyball
No. 9 UCSB
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
John Wooden Center
By Phil Share
March 2, 2016 1:18 a.m.
UCLA men’s volleyball has the opportunity to register its first three-match win streak since the Bruins’ season-opening undefeated run ended in early February.
No. 4 UCLA (15-3, 11-3 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) will host No. 9 UC Santa Barbara (13-6, 9-5) Wednesday in the teams’ first meeting of the season. It will mark the first match of a home-and-home series between the Bruins and the Gauchos that concludes Friday in Santa Barbara.
UCLA’s recent return to form has consisted of a home sweep of Cal Baptist and an away victory at rival USC.
“I think we’re starting to get back to the mentality that we played with at the beginning of the year that led to some success early on,” said junior middle blocker Mitch Stahl. “The one-point mentality … we kind of lacked that in recent matches, but we got it back.”
The Gauchos find themselves in a similarly good position. They have won five of their last six games, with the only loss in that span coming against No. 3 Stanford, who also beat UCLA. Sitting only one place behind UCLA in the conference standings, UCSB’s remaining eight conference matches become more imperative as the end of the season approaches.
The Gauchos’ attack is not so different from that of the Bruins’, either. Both teams average nearly the same number of kills per set – UCLA with 13 and UCSB with 12.6. In terms of setting, each squad also has comparable numbers. The Bruins average above 12 assists per set, while the Gauchos average just below that figure.
The initial momentum, however, could swing the Bruins’ way Wednesday – UCSB has a 5-5 road record this season, compared to UCLA’s near perfect 6-1 record in Pauley Pavilion.
A point of contention to watch for between the teams is serving. The Gauchos have recorded 99 aces this season, paling in comparison to the Bruins’ 132. Per set, UCLA averages 1.9 against UCSB’s 1.43. The Bruins’ strong service game is led by freshman setter/hitter Micah Ma’a, who has 38 aces on his resume.
Aside from the service numbers, Wednesday will be a matchup of two squads that have been down similar paths this year.
Both teams have dropped matches against UC Irvine and Stanford, and UCSB has lost twice to BYU – a team that will be a challenge for UCLA when they meet in April.
