The new year marks a fresh start for the Bruins.

Following an exhibition match against Trinity Western last week, No. 1 UCLA men’s volleyball is set to face Saint Francis on Friday at the Gold Mine in Long Beach, California. The upcoming contest is the first since UCLA defeated Long Beach State last May to take home back-to-back national championships and the program’s 21st title.

Although the new season has yet to begin, UCLA coach John Hawks – who returned to Westwood after spending two years at the helm of Loyola Chicago – said he already established expectations for players to compete with greater intensity.

“I want us to act like we didn’t make the playoffs last year, so we’re fighting for every match that we’re going to play,” Hawks said. “I don’t want to take anybody for granted. We’re going to respect everybody we play.”

The Bruin attacking arsenal took a hit with the departure of several of last year’s seniors, including AVCA All-Americans Ethan Champlin, Merrick McHenry and Grant Sloane. However, the fissures left by the roster turnover may be pieced together by rising leadership. Returning outside hitters redshirt junior Cooper Robinson and junior Zach Rama, who helped spearhead UCLA’s attacking game last season with a combined 396 kills in 2024, have the potential to fill the open voids, while junior setter Andrew Rowan could continue to be the glue that permits the offense to succeed.

Meanwhile, Hawks said expanded roles might be given to redshirt junior middle blocker Matthew Edwards – who recorded a .875 clip across five matches in 2023 and 2024 – and redshirt sophomore opposite hitter David Decker – who notched a season-high three kills and saw action in four matches last year.

For the second year running, UCLA finds itself facing uncertainty at libero. For now, Hawks expects sophomore outside hitter Luca Curci to assume the starting role in the lineup over redshirt junior libero Matthew Aziz. The latter was utilized as a defensive libero last season, while former Bruin Alex Knight served the offensive duties.

“Luca is, to me, he’s a winner, he’s a competitor,” Hawks said. “He’s probably our better guy at serve-receive. … I want to give him an opportunity to get himself emotionally in the game by playing the offense and the defense right now.”

With different levels of roster depth than last season, the production that characterized last year’s team has the potential to steeply decline. However, Rama said players across all levels of seniority contributed to fostering a cohesive team dynamic and chemistry.

“A lot of the core guys are returning, which is good. All of our younger guys have really bought into this culture that we’ve set,” Rama said. “We’ve got some really talented players off the bench. They can come in and help in the same ways that I did, some other guys did, last year.”

Since the early 2010s, when UC Irvine won back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013, each squad has consecutively claimed national titles for two years in a row. However, for over a decade, no program has held onto the crown long enough to break into three-peat territory.

Amid all the changes, the Bruins are seeking stability in one key way – another trophy. With a chance to shatter that ceiling this year, Robinson said other teams will be keeping a close eye on UCLA.

“It was the same feeling last year, but it’s even more this year, just because of the three-peat drought over the past decade and a half,” Robinson said. “We have the talent, we have the coaching and we have the grit to win this year.”

Having spent seven years from 2015 to 2022 as an assistant coach in Westwood, Hawks, who is upfront about his primary goal to obtain national title No. 22, said he is asking his players to come back even hungrier than before – pushing them to move faster, communicate more and play with greater intent.

Rama said the coach’s philosophy emphasizes a strong work ethic which has been instrumental in bringing the squad closer together. He added that witnessing the dedication of the person next to them on the court inspires the unit to reciprocate the same energy, which can cultivate a unified team culture.

“My hope for them is that they go out there and play for the person next to them and elevate their teammates,” Hawks said.