After avenging their sole loss of the season, the Bruins have a chance to extend their win streak by two this week.

No. 3 UCLA men’s water polo (17-1, 1-0 MPSF) will face off against No. 8 UC Santa Barbara (10-10, 0-1 GCC) before seeing No. 7 UC Davis (11-6, 4-0 WWPA) in its final multigame week of the regular season. Both games are set to take place at Spieker Aquatics Center.

Senior goalkeeper Bernardo Maurizi said the team is striving to stay humble and focused after beating the top-ranked team in the country in No. 1 Stanford last weekend.

“They’re (UCSB and Davis are) two good teams, so it’s going to be a challenging week for us,” Maurizi said. “But that’s what we’re looking for: to keep building off the Stanford game, to not be satisfied and not think of ourselves as better than anyone just because we beat Stanford.”

The Bruins enter the weekend on the heels of a 10-6 win over the previously undefeated Cardinal. Earlier in the season, Stanford handed UCLA its sole loss of the year – a single-point defeat that saw the blue and gold get shut out in the final stanza of the game.

In its second match of the season in September, UCLA defeated UCSB after senior attacker Tommy Gruwell scored the game-winning goal in the final two minutes of the contest. Following that game, the blue and gold bested Davis with a final score of 12-8.

Maurizi said the team has come a long way since those two victories at the beginning of the season.

“Santa Barbara is a good team. … I feel we’re a better team,” Maurizi said. “We keep improving, and we showed that at the Stanford game. We’re a different team from the beginning of the season.”

The Bruins hold an all-time record of 108-17-1 against the Gauchos – more wins than they have against any other program – including wins in the schools’ past 15 meetings. UCLA has also never lost to Davis.

Coach Adam Wright said the team’s main focus this weekend is shoring up its defense.

“We know we’re going to get their (UCSB’s) best this weekend,” Wright said. “It’s always a really tough game with them. But my hope is on the defensive end, we can build from where we left off last weekend because that will continue to put us in a position where we can be successful.”

The blue and gold has struggled in the first half of games all season, and Saturday was no exception, with the Bruins failing to outscore the Cardinal before halftime. In the second half, UCLA exercised its defensive prowess, holding Stanford to just two goals, which is half the total the Cardinal scored in the first half.

“When we play with that kind of energy, we’re a pretty tough team defensively to get through,” Wright said. “Especially when you combine that with Bernardo in the goal, our energy on defense was at a different level than what we’ve seen all year.”

The blue and gold has yet to lose at home this year, posting a 3-0 home record on the season.

Sophomore attacker Chase Dodd said the games this weekend provide an opportunity for redemption after the team gave less-than-stellar performances against the Gauchos and Aggies earlier in the season.

“Last time we played both these teams, they gave us a run for our money,” Dodd said. “It always feels good to come back and show who you are against someone that really tested you last time you played.”

UCLA is set for first sprint against UCSB at 4 p.m. on Thursday at Spieker Aquatics Center.