UCLA men’s volleyball utilizes offensive depth throughout early season

Volleyball is a sport played with six athletes on each side.

Even with a two-setter strategy, teams usually deploy eight to nine players in any given match.

But three contests into the season, No. 2 UCLA men’s volleyball (3-0) has employed a different starting lineup in each matchup while utilizing a one-setter formation, with 12 total Bruins seeing action so far in the 2022 campaign. Seven players currently average over two points per set, as each match has featured a different team-leading scorer.

“I couldn’t tell you right now what our starting lineup is,” said coach John Speraw. “I can tell you that we have a lot of very good volleyball players and a good volleyball team.”

Sophomore Ethan Champlin is UCLA’s leader in kills per set and total kills, with 2.9 and 29, respectively. But the outside hitter wasn’t even a part of the team’s attacking strategy in its season opener, tallying zero total attempts after assuming a primarily serving role in a sweep of Princeton on Jan. 15.

Right behind Champlin is redshirt junior opposite Kevin Kobrine, who also had zero total attempts in a match after being subbed in the last set against Ohio State on Friday. Despite the limited play, Kobrine leads the Bruins with 3.69 points per set and the highest hitting percentage of any pin hitter on the roster at .38.

Tied for the most sets played on the team, sophomore setter/opposite Miles Partain said UCLA’s diverse offense is a product of its depth at outside hitter and middle blocker.

“We got three solid opposites, a bunch of middles that are really good,” Partain said. “Then outside – we have just great outsides.”

Across three matches, Partain has set up eight different teammates while also playing a role in the attack as well. The setter/opposite has already eclipsed his total attack and kill total from last season in four fewer games in addition to setting career highs in kills, points, total blocks and assists.

Partain’s setting role hasn’t been safe from turnover either, as he was briefly substituted in for his brother, redshirt sophomore setter Marcus Partain, near the end of the first set of UCLA’s matchup against Penn State on Saturday. Marcus Partain finished with two assists in the victory, contributing to a total of 51 total across his team.

Including Miles Partain, the Bruins have employed a new starting setter in each of the last three seasons. Despite the team’s shifting lineups and constant adjustments at setter, Champlin said the team’s chemistry has not taken a hit.

“It’s not a huge adjustment. They’re both really good setters,” Champlin said.

With 21 matches left in the regular season and 10 remaining players yet to take the court this year, Speraw said his team will look to continue using its depth as an advantage.

“It’s early in the year, so we get a chance to really look at a lot of guys,” Speraw said. “We have a really exceptionally evenly split, talented team, and so it’s fun. It makes us very versatile.”