Scouting report: UCLA men’s volleyball

Following a brief break due to COVID-19 protocols, No. 2 UCLA men’s volleyball will open its 2022 campaign Saturday with a matchup against Princeton. Despite featuring a new face at setter for the third season in a row, the Bruins have started the season with their highest AVCA Top-15 ranking since 2019. With coach John Speraw at the helm for the 10th straight season, the blue and gold will seek its first NCAA title since 2006. Here is the breakdown of the Bruins from assistant Sports editor Bryan Palmero – who has an inkling that a good chunk of the team lives just a floor below him.

Opposite/Outside Hitter
Personnel: OH Sam Burgi, OH Ethan Champlin, OH/Opp Ido David, OH Ian Eschenberg, OH/Opp Cole Ketrzynski, OH Alex Knight, Opp Kevin Kobrine, S/Opp Miles Partain, OH Cooper Robinson, OH Grant Sloane, Opp Kyle Vom Steeg

Simply put, UCLA has no shortage of pin hitters.

From first-team All-MPSF junior Cole Ketrzynski to freshman Ido David and more, the Bruins feature a lineup of outside hitters and opposites with depth as far as the eye can see.

Ketrzynski is widely expected to return to the Bruins’ starting outside hitter slot following a career year in 2021. After churning out three kills per set as a freshman, Ketrzynski rose to a 3.98 kills-per-set clip the following year – good for fourth in the MPSF.

The Canadian finished 2021 as an honorable mention AVCA All-America selection after bearing nearly 25% of his team’s kills and scoring load while pacing the Bruins with 32 service aces.

Once you throw in sophomore Ethan Champlin, redshirt junior Sam Burgi and junior Alex Knight – who has fully recovered from shoulder surgery over the summer – to the mix of outside hitters, replacing former Bruin outside hitter Austin Matautia this season will be a simple task.

The Bruins have no shortage of weapons on the right, either. David – a 6-foot-7 freshman who was named the 2019 Israeli Super League MVP – redshirt junior Kevin Kobrine and redshirt sophomore Kyle Vom Steeg will all co-headline an opposite position with just as much competition as the left.

But for all the team’s depth, the myriad of lineup possibilities can easily turn into a weakness.

Given coach John Speraw’s tendency to revolve through his lineups, it’s more than likely nearly every outside hitter or opposite on the roster will play key minutes as the season progresses.

With a team once again needing to find an identity at setter, the constant turnover at the pins – albeit talented – could shape up to a season-long battle with chemistry.

Setter
Personnel: S Ayrton Garcia-Jurado, S Marcus Partain, S/Opp Miles Partain

With their plethora of pin hitters, the Bruins’ situation at setter might seem a bit suspect.

After all, with three players seeking to be the starting floor general for a No. 2-ranked squad, the depth on UCLA’s outsides could easily fall flat on its face. But for a Speraw-led team, this isn’t new.

Following a year of Mads Kyed Jensen in 2020 to a season of Sam Kobrine in 2021, 2022 will mark the third straight campaign in which the Bruins feature a new face at setter. The turnover at setter hasn’t completely hurt UCLA, which compiled a 25-15 record across the last two seasons.

This year’s setter battle is set to be between redshirt sophomore setter Marcus Partain and sophomore setter/opposite Miles Partain. Among the two Partain brothers, Marcus holds the most experience at the position, with a career-high 22 assist performance versus USC in 2021.

Should Speraw look to maximize the playing time of his pins, it wouldn’t be unexpected to see the 10th-year coach roll out a 6-2 at times throughout the year, thus opening playing time for both Partain brothers and junior Ayrton Garcia-Jurado.

But if consistency and on-court chemistry start to see a dip, the Bruins are best off finding a singular answer at setter.

Middle Blocker
Personnel: MB Matthew Edwards, MB Guy Genis, MB Daniel Matheney, MB Sean McQuiggan, MB Merrick McHenry, MB J.R. Norris IV, MB Ian Parish

The picture becomes clearer once you get to the Bruins’ middle blockers.

Similar to Ketrzynski at outside hitter, redshirt sophomore middle blocker Merrick McHenry is likely to be the de facto starter at his respective position. After seeing no in-match action his freshman year, McHenry broke out on the scene in 2021, leading UCLA with an MPSF fifth-best 1.02 blocks per set and a conference third-best .423 hitting percentage.

McHenry’s size and agility make him a threat on both sides of the ball, demonstrated by the time he went for a career-high 18 kills before churning out a seven-block performance the following game during a weekend series in 2021.

Alongside McHenry are a bevy of starting-caliber middles, with redshirt senior Ian Parish, redshirt freshman Guy Genis and redshirt junior Daniel Matheney all in the fold.

Libero
Personnel: L Matthew Aziz, L Cole Pender

An enigmatic spirit – both on the court and on the team’s TikTok – redshirt senior libero Cole Pender is a lock to be UCLA’s defensive leader in the back row.

Appearing in all 21 matches for the Bruins last season, Pender sat in a tie for the most sets played on the team with 80, playing as an overall constant for a team with a lot of moving parts.

Even with freshman libero Matthew Aziz in the fold, it’s likely Pender – and his 1.29 digs per set in 2021 – rides the starting job in his redshirt senior season with the blue and gold.