Defending back-to-back national titles starts with ensuring no one walks out of Pauley Pavilion victorious.

And No. 3 UCLA men’s volleyball (2-1) will have its first opportunity to defend its home territory against No. 14 UC San Diego (6-0) on Thursday, before taking a short trip to face No. 15 Cal State Northridge (5-0) at the Premier America Credit Union Arena on Friday.

The Bruins swept the Tritons in the teams’ sole affair last season, and on Friday UCLA will face Northridge for the first time since 2023 – when the reigning champs clinched six of six sets across two matches.

As Southern California grapples with safety and recovery efforts from the Palisades and Eaton wildfires, the reigning champs’ agenda has been marred with uncertainty.

“It’s been a bit of a disjointed schedule with the fires and us getting relocated for a little bit,” said coach John Hawks. “I don’t want to make that excuse, but it’s typical early January volleyball. I know that our guys are going to get in and put in the work. We’re practicing, watching the video, we’ll learn and our guys will get in and do what they need to do to get better.”

After the season opener against Fairleigh Dickinson was cut from the season itinerary due to the fires, Hawks’ squad’s season game against Saint Francis was moved from Pauley Pavilion to the campus of Long Beach State.

However, as UCLA has reopened campus to normal operations, it will have a chance at recouping following its first loss of the season to then-No. 13 Ohio State last Saturday.

“It’s definitely impacted our training,” Hawks said. “Emotionally, trying to deal with the loss, the different events that have happened. I anticipate us just moving forward and trying to put this stuff as far in the rearview mirror as we can, but certainly conscious of where people are in their lives.”

Before the Bruins’ first defeat since the 2024 MPSF championship, they started the season 2-0, sweeping Saint Francis and then-No. 14 Penn State – the latter in the First Point Collegiate Challenge.

One of the Bruin squad’s biggest highlights so far this season appears to be junior middle blocker Cameron Thorne.

The Grand Canyon transfer has swiftly proven to be a reliable contributor, recording four kills and a solo block against Ohio State. He’s logged a 0.650 hitting percentage on the year, but the next set of games will offer more opportunities for him to further integrate his abilities into his new troupe.

“It’s been kind of hard adjusting to the new routes that I’ve been learning … and making sure my spacing is right,” Thorne said. “I’ve been trying to stay out of the way, make sure no one gets hurt. I’ve been trying to work on that as much as possible because those guys are just as important as the front-row middle.”

Elsewhere, sophomore outside hitter Luca Curci has stepped into an expanded role and realized new responsibilities as UCLA’s primary libero.

His six-dig performance against Ohio State showcased promise for the Bruins’ 2025 campaign. After former coach John Speraw struggled to find consistency at libero last season, Hawks’ early reliability in his defensive specialist could be vital for the team’s cohesion and improvement.

[Related: Can UCLA men’s volleyball solve its libero problem before NCAAs?]

“Our chemistry (with Curci) is going pretty well on the court,” said redshirt junior outside hitter Cooper Robinson. “It’s hard next to someone new every other week, but he’s stepped into that role and he’s taken full advantage of it. He has a really good IQ of the game, so I’m not worried next to him at all and I’m excited to play more with him.”

The Bruins have displayed consistent strength in their attacking game despite their Saturday loss. Robinson recorded a season-high 11 kills amid the defeat in Austin, Texas, while junior setter Andrew Rowan set a season benchmark for himself at 41 assists, and junior outside hitter Zach Rama even tied a career-high 21 kills.

“Rama and I have been the two to three outside the past couple of years, and we have a great relationship off the court,” Robinson said. “We hang out all the time. Rowan, Rama and I have been talking about playing together for years, and it’s really great to be out there with Rama as an official starter. Our connection on our setting and our quick tempo work is going really well, and I honestly am having a blast.”

Heading into a doubleheader later this week, the Bruins will be tested against two undefeated Californian rivals.

Triton middle blocker Jim Garrison and Matador middle blocker Stilian Delibosov lead the nation in blocks, with the latter at first and the former trailing right behind.

After debuting in Pauley Pavilion against the Tritons, the Bruins will travel to the Matadome, where they’ll be met by setter Donovan Constable – a nominee to last year’s All-Big West First Team.

Constable currently leads the Matadors with 199 assists. Hitting off of him is opposite Jalen Phillips, who has notched 93 kills in 2025 after being a Big West All-Freshmen member last season.

“I want us to be the best version of ourselves, and that does entail some risk when we go out there, and that’s OK,” Hawks said. “I’m hoping that by the time we get to May, we have fine-tuned our frappe from the end line and we’re going to be the best team we can at that point in the season.”