Adversity breeds growth.

While training, conditioning and watching film help, nothing educates more than failure.

The Antelopes swept the Bruins on Friday.

But just 24 hours later, No. 2 UCLA men’s volleyball (17-4, 7-1 MPSF) defeated No. 13 Grand Canyon (15-9, 4-6) in five sets at the Global Credit Union Arena in Phoenix.

The second leg of the series was Grand Canyon’s senior night. And after junior outside hitter Zach Rama’s net violation allowed the Antelopes to even the match at two sets each, the sea of purple and white roared and jeered, echoing their team’s success and the Bruins’ failures.

“The fans were into it,” said coach John Hawks. “It’s us against everybody – which is what you want.”

After holding a lead for nearly the entire fourth set, the seemingly dejected Bruins stooped to the bench.

The squad was faced with an ultimatum: Either allow the Lopes to steal another win in Phoenix or overcome the challenges it had faced just the day before.

The Bruins chose the latter.

After sporting a .000 hitting percentage against Grand Canyon on Friday night, redshirt junior outside hitter Cooper Robinson posted a season-high 19 kills on a .421 clip Saturday. Two early kills and an ace from the Pacific Palisades local allowed the Bruins to take command early in the fifth set.

Although the Lopes clawed back, eventually tying the stanza at 10, junior middle blocker Cameron Thorne spiked a resounding kill to the right of Grand Canyon opposite Jarrett Anderson. As a triumphant bang from the ball hitting the hardwood drowned out the shouts of fans, the 2024 AVCA First Team All-American flexed his arms toward the crowd.

Like Robinson, Thorne – who transferred from Grand Canyon last offseason – faced adversity during the series, particularly on an emotional level, Hawks said.

Surrounded by the jeers of his former home crowd, Thorne committed a season-high seven service errors, contributing to the team’s season-high 42 service blunders.

And the Bruins’ struggles were not just limited to the service line.

A Grand Canyon pin hitter’s kill attempt left freshman outside hitter Sean Kelly’s nose swollen and bulging after the attacker’s hand hit Kelly square in the face. Redshirt junior libero Matthew Aziz was seen limping around the court, senior outside hitter/opposite Ido David was relegated to the bench for a third consecutive game with an undisclosed injury, and Robinson taped up his knee again and again to quell an injury sustained in Friday’s match.

“Cooper could barely walk, and yesterday was a horrible performance for him,” Hawks said. “He was the first one in the video last night, and he apologized to the team.”

Both teams also matched each other’s defensive intensity, forcing prolonged rallies – some even eclipsing 30 seconds.

“Assistant coach Nick Vogel has delivered a very concise game plan, and our guys are executing the game plan better and better,” Hawks said. “It was nice to see us scramble and win some rallies.”

Aziz, Kelly and Robinson each had eight digs on the night, all of which were season highs. UCLA’s defense registered a season-best 39 digs – its third straight contest with 30 or more.

On the other hand, UCLA’s attack faced a Grand Canyon defense that made it fight for each point, with libero Cooper Herndon’s 12 digs paving the way.

But yet again, the Bruins overcame the Lopes’ defensive pressure, sporting a season-high 62 kills while maintaining a .344 hitting percentage.

UCLA will continue its MPSF slate, facing BYU in back-to-back contests April 11 and April 12 at Pauley Pavilion.

“We’ve changed our offense a bit, so we’ve got work to do on our side of the net,” Hawks said. “This is an opportunity for us to rest up, recover and get healthy.”