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Men’s volleyball gears up to face Princeton in first home game of season

Senior middle blocker Daenan Gyimah (left) and redshirt senior middle blocker Matt Younggren (right) combined for 21 kills over five sets for No. 8 UCLA men’s volleyball in its Jan. 6 road matchup against No. 13 Princeton. The two teams will meet again in the Bruins’ home opener. (Daanish Bhatti/Daily Bruin)

Men's volleyball


No. 13 Princeton
Thursday, 7 p.m.

John Wooden Center
UCLA LIVE STREAM-2

By Jake Greenberg-Bell

Jan. 30, 2020 2:10 a.m.

Six games into the season, and the Bruins have still not had a home game.

That will change Thursday, when No. 8 UCLA men’s volleyball (4-2) returns to Westwood to face off against No. 13 Princeton (2-4) in the John Wooden Center at 7 p.m. for the Bruins’ first home game of the season.

This will be the second time the Bruins have faced off against the Tigers this season, with the last contest Jan. 6. In that match, the Bruins jumped out to a two-set lead before the Tigers clawed their way back to tie the game at two sets apiece. The Bruins won the fifth set with a score of 15-10 to win their third game of the season and remain undefeated.

“They’re a good team. Even if you’re up, you can’t expect them to stop competing. They’re going to do that really well,” said coach John Speraw. “I think we’re in for a battle; we know that. It feels like a long time ago that we played (them); there’s just been so much learning that’s been going on.”

But coming into their second matchup with the Tigers, the Bruins can no longer tout their perfect record. Before last Friday’s game, they were swept twice in a row for the first time since 2015.

Freshman outside hitter/opposite Cole Ketrzynski registered a team-leading 17 kills against Princeton in its earlier matchup and was recently awarded the Off The Block National Freshman of the Week award. He said the Bruins will bring what they learned from their first game against Princeton with them to Thursday’s game.

“We learned that they’re a good team that competes hard,” Ketrzynski said. “We have to play at the top of our game in order to beat them, so that’s what we’re hoping to do Thursday.”

Unlike the Bruins, who have 12 rostered freshmen and redshirt freshmen, the Tigers have four. Of those four, just one played in all five sets in their first contest against the Bruins.

“They have some great position players, and they have some size and some spots and some experience and they’re well-coached,” Speraw said. “Especially with a lot of the young guys that have been experiencing this for the first time, this will be another step in a developmental journey for us and I’m excited about it because they’re a great team.”

UCLA has historically been successful on its home court. Last season, the team was 10-1 at home compared to its 7-7 road record. Over the course of the past four seasons combined, the Bruins have recorded a 51-10 home record, compared to a 30-22 record away.

The home game will be the first time the freshmen on UCLA’s roster will suit up in Westwood. Redshirt senior middle blocker Matt Younggren – who was one of two nonfreshmen to play all four sets in the Bruins’ most recent game against Ohio State – said utilizing their home court advantage is important to the team.

“It’s always important to defend your home court,” Younggren said. “We have the advantage of playing at home; other teams are traveling to play us. So we always want to win at home; we have our fans and everything.”

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Jake Greenberg-Bell | Sports reporter
Greenberg-Bell is currently a Sports reporter. He was previously a contributor on the men's soccer, women's soccer and men's volleyball beats.
Greenberg-Bell is currently a Sports reporter. He was previously a contributor on the men's soccer, women's soccer and men's volleyball beats.
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