A sea of eyes watched the court.

Each gaze seemed fixed toward Cooper Robinson.

But the redshirt junior’s eyes were trained on someone else.

Former Bruin teammate Merrick McHenry – with the national championship ring he earned alongside the outside hitter last year glinting on his finger – gesticulated emphatically with his hands at Robinson from the sidelines, urging him on with some advice.

With a grin on his face, Robinson acknowledged the trusted counsel and returned to his position to await the next point.

Spurred on by a handful of recently departed alumni – including McHenry, Ethan Champlin, Grant Sloane and former head coach John Speraw – No. 2 UCLA men’s volleyball (20-4, 10-1 MPSF) defeated its crosstown rival No. 5 USC (19-6, 7-4) in five sets Thursday evening at Pauley Pavilion on Senior Night. With the win over their crosstown rival, the Bruins secured their fourth-straight regular-season conference title and are projected to be the top seed in the MPSF tournament, beginning Tuesday.

“There’ve been so many amazing players that came through this program, amazing coaches,” said redshirt junior libero Matthew Aziz, who will graduate and apply to dental school in June. “We’re not just representing the current Bruins, we’re representing a whole legacy of great athletes and great people.”

The men’s volleyball program at UCLA has a storied history, with a legacy that stretches 21 national championships back – the most recent clinched in each of the last two years under Speraw.

Coach John Hawks said having Speraw – whom he coached with for at least 11 years – attend added an extra layer of meaning to the last home game of the season.

“I pinch myself every day that I lead this program, and I’m honored to be here,” Hawks said. “To have my mentor here – somebody who I love and respect so much and he’s one of my best friends, he was in my wedding, our families are really tight – it means the world to me that he wants to come back, be here for the seniors, watch us beat USC.”

Before the match, UCLA’s graduating athletes were each celebrated with flowers and a glass-framed jersey. Aziz, senior outside hitter/opposite Ido David, redshirt junior middle blockers Sean McQuiggan and Matthew Edwards and Robinson walked up one by one to Hawks, who pulled each of them into a close embrace.

“I recruited them, and I feel like I missed a big part of their career here, right? And to be the bookend for them – on the beginning, on the end, is really cool for me,” said Hawks, who spent the last two years helming Loyola Chicago. “This is a great way to end their Bruin season and career – that they got it with a win against USC in Pauley for the last game. They’re going to remember that for a long time.”

The pin hitter trio of Robinson, junior Zach Rama and freshman Sean Kelly combined for 57 kills on the night, each of them breaking into double-digits. Sixteen of the team’s 31 digs also came courtesy of the three offensive standouts.

While the latter two outside hitters earned hitting percentages of .533 and .273, respectively, Robinson, who hit at a .537 clip on 41 attacks, set a new career high with 25 kills.

“The amount of kills doesn’t matter to me. I’m just really happy that we got to win,” Robinson said. “I would have been really bummed … if I got 25, 30, 45 kills, and we still lost.”

Hawks also subbed in David – who was a 2023 AVCA First Team All-American but was sidelined for most of the season with a leg injury – to contribute his serving abilities. And McQuiggan and Aziz covered the defensive side, with a team-high four block assists from the former and a career second-best six digs from the latter to end the night.

The team also held Trojan outside hitters Dillon Klein, who ranks 15th in the nation in kills per set, and Sterling Foley, who ranks 45th in hitting percentage, below a .200 clip on the evening.

“It’s just the culmination of four or five years of hard work,” said Sloane, who mingled among the team and conversed with his former teammates after the match. “For them (seniors) to have their moment out on the court and dedicate a night to them, and then to ultimately get such a hard-fought win, I think that just speaks about their entire careers here.”

Guy Genis, who transferred from UCLA to USC after graduating last season, said although the rivalry between the two schools runs deep, he has a lot of affection for the Bruins he won two championships with. The middle blocker paced the Trojans with six block assists and one solo block, helping his squad with three kills.

“I was a senior last year, and all of the people that I’m playing against right now were younger than me,” Genis said. “I’m happy to try to contribute to the sport of volleyball that just gave me so much, just me giving it back to this sport. If it’s at USC or UCLA, it’s great for me.”

The Bruins will face off against the Trojans on Saturday in the second part of their two-match rivalry series. Parker Tomkinson, the 7-foot middle blocker who put up eight kills on a .467 clip for USC, said his squad is looking to make some adjustments in the upcoming game – which will also be the Trojans’ Senior Night.

“We’re really pushing other teams to want to beat us, and it’s close, but we haven’t been able to really grasp some of those tight ones, definitely,” Tomkinson said. “Saturday, I think we’re gonna come out with some real fire and want to beat them.”