Rejuvenated Bruins gear up against UCSB

By Daniel Miller
Daily Bruin Contributor

A tumultuous MPSF regular season saw the injury-laden UCLA
men’s volleyball team hold the No. 1 ranking for six weeks,
lose two of its stars, relinquish that position after key losses to
Pepperdine and Hawaii and drop to No. 3.

Now the Bruins open the first round of playoffs, finally at full
strength, ready to defend their MPSF championship title once again.
UCLA has won 16 of 32 possible MPSF championships in its
history.

When the Bruins (25-6, 17-5 MPSF) face UC Santa Barbara (17-10,
12-10 MPSF) Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion they will have junior
middle blocker Scott Morrow and freshman outside hitter Jonathan
Acosta at their disposal. Morrow returns after recovering from a
torn quadriceps, and Acosta has battled back from a torn abdominal
muscle.

“I am excited to be back,” Morrow said. “They
are a good team, but we have played them before and know their
tendencies.”

Simply having Acosta and Morrow back will make a difference for
the Bruins, who have been shaky in big matches without these
important contributors.

“If we stay in the playoffs, this team has the potential
to get stronger each week we are in the playoffs,” UCLA head
coach Al Scates said.

UCLA has beat the No. 6 Gauchos, who have not been to the
postseason since 1998, twice this year, including a 3-1 victory
March 1 at Santa Barbara.

The Gauchos are led by Andy Rivera, who had 15 kills in the
teams’ last meeting. UCSB hit .355 this season, while UCLA
hit .338.

“We knew the first round was going to be tough no matter
who we played,” junior outside hitter Cameron Mount said.
“It’s been a while since they’ve been to the
playoffs. They’re going to be fired up.”

A key to UCLA’s victories over UCSB has been solid
blocking by Morrow and freshman middle blocker Paul Johnson.

“They are probably the best passing team in the
league,” Scates said. “We have to stop the things they
do most, and continue to hold their players under their season
averages.”

The Bruins cannot afford to look past their first-round matchup,
and will not, according to Scates, who said that the Gauchos are
stronger than some of the teams from the East that reach the
national tournament.

With a win, UCLA restores the order that it struggled to
maintain without its stars.