Men’s volleyball improves defense to end road trip on win after 2 straight losses
Senior outside hitter Austin Matautia (right) and junior middle blocker Grant Maleski (left) have combined for 16 service aces and 18 service errors in 2020. (Daanish Bhatti/Daily Bruin)
By Rivaldo Moran-Salguero
Jan. 29, 2020 1:00 a.m.
The Bruins’ inconsistent serving from last season has carried over into 2020 but not without a few improvements.
No. 8 UCLA men’s volleyball (4-2) dropped six consecutive sets during this road trip, but it will come back to Westwood with wins and new experiences under its belt.
Currently, the Bruins average 21.7 service errors per game while their opponents average 16.8.
“I emphasize serving every day,” said coach John Speraw. “It’s nothing new or out of the ordinary.”
Despite the number of service errors, Speraw’s continued emphasis on serving has given the Bruins 9.2 aces per game. This is a step up from last season in which they averaged 6.5 aces per game, while still committing 21.5 service errors per game.
UCLA had 13 aces against Ohio State compared to the Buckeyes’ one.
Freshman outside hitter Alex Knight, who has played in every game this season, currently averages 3.7 service errors per game. Despite that figure, Knight currently leads the team with 54 kills and says the team hasn’t made any major changes in its game plan recently.
“I don’t think we changed anything,” Knight said. ” I just think we got in a good rhythm and got some momentum.”
In UCLA’s back-to-back losses to No. 15 UC San Diego and No. 7 Penn State, the Bruins averaged 15 service errors in those two games. In the Ohio State game, they racked up a total of 19 service errors and still managed to come out on top.
According to Knight, the difference in the victory against Ohio State was defense.
“I think our blocking and defense improved,” Knight said. “It’s something that coach stressed a lot this week in practice especially after that loss. We blocked a lot more balls, and we got a lot more touches on defense.”
Against the Buckeyes, the Bruins had seven blocks. UCLA had only six blocks in its two road losses combined.
“Service pressure was probably a really big element,” Speraw said.
In the first two matches of the season, freshman outside hitter/opposite Cole Ketrzynski only played two sets, with Speraw electing to play more experienced players on the season-opening road trip. But Speraw said he has more depth at his disposal now with young players, such as Ketrzynski, stepping up.
“I think we are learning a lot from every opportunity we’ve had, and it’s good to see that we can roll out different lineups and not have (senior middle blocker) Daenan Gyimah and still get big wins,” Speraw said.
Ketrzynski currently has 48 kills and only trails Knight. Against Ohio State, Ketrzynski put up a .400 hitting percentage to help the Bruins pull off the victory, with the help of Knight.
As UCLA returns to Westwood, it will host one game against No. 13 Princeton before hitting the road again for four away games.
