Ointment heals an open wound, therapy softens past trauma and exercising alleviates stress.

And for the Bruins, reflection heals a first-season loss.

No. 1 UCLA men’s volleyball (21-1, 8-1 MPSF) will play in a double-header against UC Merced (4-14, 1-9) at the Greg and Cathie Hostetler Court in Merced, California, on Thursday and Friday, before facing Menlo (3-15, 2-7) on Sunday at Haynes-Prim Pavilion in Atherton, California.

The Bruins are coming off their first loss of the season, falling to No. 6 Pepperdine on Thursday in Malibu, California, before rebounding with a 3-1 home win Friday over the Waves.

“The focus is just really on a response when you have your first loss,” said coach John Hawks. “We haven’t had to deal with that yet. We stayed together, and we stayed positive.”

UC Merced has yet to win a set against a ranked opponent this season, as it has particularly struggled on the road, holding a 1-10 record in away matches. Its highest-ranked opponents were then-No. 6 BYU on March 6 and then-No. 6 Pepperdine on March 20 and 21. With limited experience against top competition, UC Merced enters the double-header facing questions about its ability to compete at a higher level.

Nonetheless, the Bobcats could benefit from additional preparation time, having had nearly two weeks to regroup following their last match March 28 in a three-set loss to Concordia University Irvine.

Leading UC Merced’s offense, outside hitter Mason Stokes holds a team-high 167 kills and averages 2.74 kills per set. Opposite Kaleb Cole trails Stokes with 119 kills and 2.48 kills per set. However, the Bobcats’ offensive engineers struggle with efficiency, as Stokes has yet to swing above a .400 hitting percentage in any game this year, while Cole has surpassed this mark three times.

UCLA’s nation-leading .386 hitting percentage will be a major mismatch against UC Merced’s .186 mark, giving the Bruins a significant offensive edge. Additionally, UC Merced has struggled at the service line with 275 total service errors, a similar theme for UCLA, which has totaled 393 service errors, including a tied-season-high 27 in its first loss of the season. UCLA will look to clean up its serving, an area that has been a consistent struggle for the squad.

“We just have to do our thing night in, night out,” said sophomore outside hitter Sean Kelly. “Keeping our serving consistent and being tenacious on defense, and I think that’ll take care of the game.”

Similar to UC Merced, Menlo struggles on the road, going 1-9 in away matches. In its recent double-header against No. 4 USC, Menlo fell in straight sets and posted a .037 hitting percentage across both matches.

Defensively, Menlo records more than double its opponents’ reception errors, tallying 130 for the season. However, blocking remains a strength for the Oaks, with middle blocker Garrett Hockman leading the team with 44 total blocks.

UCLA has outperformed its opponents at the net, recording 170.5 total blocks compared to its opponents’ 128.

Spearheading this defensive effort has been senior middle blocker Cameron Thorne – a two-time AVCA First Team All-America selection – who has logged 67 total blocks this season. In UCLA’s matchup against No. 2 Hawaii on March 14, Thorne recorded a tied season-high six blocks. His .513 hitting percentage also remains the highest among the Bruins and in the MPSF, contributing to UCLA’s offensive consistency.

With matchups against two unranked opponents, UCLA will aim to build momentum as it refines its consistency following its first loss of the season.

“We’ve had some tight games this season, but we’re able to squeak them out,” said senior setter Andrew Rowan. “What did we do wrong, and how are we going to fix that? We’re probably more focused and locked in for this season than any other game.”