Bearing the title of reigning national champion is a prestigious accolade.

But the honor heralds the crucible of high stakes.

Coach John Speraw’s unit – the 2023 title holder – has ignored the pressure, focusing solely on the present.

“There’s so much invested in their (the seniors) experience that I don’t really think about back to back,” said coach John Speraw. “I think about now and what we can do now with this opportunity right in front of us.”

And now, the opportunity lies within a whisker – one game separates the Bruins from trophy No. 21.

No. 1 seed UCLA men’s volleyball (25-5, 11-1 MPSF) will face No. 2 seed Long Beach State (27-2, 9-1 Big West) on Saturday afternoon in the national championship at Walter Pyramid. A victory would carve the Bruins in as the sixth consecutive program to clinch back-to-back national titles.

“There was that pressure at the beginning of the year, but at this point, we kind of forgot about it,” said redshirt senior middle blocker Merrick McHenry. “I think there is some sense of pressure to repeat, but it also gives us a little bit of confidence and clarity because we have been in the match before.”

Playing one another twice in the regular season, the Bruins fell 3-1 at Walter Pyramid in the first contest, followed by a four-set defeat of the Beach at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins’ loss to the Beach marked the only match of the season where they failed to win two sets.

While both schools rank among the top 10 in four major statistical categories, defense could likely be the difference maker in the match. Both schools rank outside the top 30 in digs per set, with Long Beach slotting in at 8.33 and UCLA at 7.74.

The Bruins’ defensive arsenal has undergone significant change since their February doubleheader against the Beach. Early in the season, senior outside hitter Ethan Champlin, freshman outside hitter Luca Curci and junior libero Hideharu Nakamura filled in at libero. Inconsistency found its remedy as the duo of redshirt senior outside hitter Alex Knight and redshirt sophomore libero Matthew Aziz have since assumed the mantle.

What UCLA has with the tandem of Aziz and Knight, the Beach has in libero Mason Briggs. The two-time AVCA First Team All-American has been a defensive stalwart for the Beach all season and may be exactly what the team needs to thwart its opponent’s offensive prowess.

On the offensive, Champlin – UCLA’s captain and AVCA First Team All-American – is coming off a season-high 19-kill performance in Thursday’s semifinal. In UCLA’s regular season victory over Long Beach, Champlin filled in as libero, posting a career-high 17 digs.

UCLA’s season finale will call upon its veterans to finish the season wreathed in confetti, banners and trophies. The top-seeded Bruins have five All-American selections, second only to the Beach’s six.

But as redshirt sophomore Cooper Robinson said, the Bruins’ weaponry extends beyond their All-American pentagon.

“We have guys who can play any position,” the outside hitter said. “We have a very deep team that keeps us very competitive in practice, and it makes us better each day. Even though those guys sometimes don’t play, they show and make us better.”