In February, when UCLA men’s volleyball traveled to play Brigham Young in Provo, Utah, the visiting Bruins came up empty-handed. They were crushed 3-0 in front of the Cougars’ loud and energetic home crowd.

The men’s volleyball team is gaining momentum at exactly the right time.

Junior outside hitter Robart Page pumped his fists in the air as he celebrated an emphatic block. Redshirt junior outside hitter Dane Worley came over and bumped him on the chest, sporting an ear-to-ear smile.

The volleyball flew high up in the air, heading out of bounds. Redshirt junior outside hitter Dane Worley sprinted back toward the bleachers, reached out his hands and dove to save it. Worley came up short as the ball landed just inches away.

The UCLA men’s volleyball team is gaining momentum, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
With just more than a month until the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament, the Bruins seemed to have found their rhythm.

Down two sets, UCLA men’s volleyball didn’t throw in the towel – instead the Bruins dug down deep and came away with a win.

The UCLA men’s volleyball team had the week off, but resting was not an option.

The Bruins were coming off a hot two-game winning streak, and on top of that, they had defeated their opponent, the unranked UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, twice this season. However, the No. 6 UCLA men’s volleyball beat the odds – but not in the way they might have hoped – on Wednesday night against UCSB and lost the match 3-1.

UCLA is hoping that history repeats itself this week when it faces two highly ranked opponents, No. 12 Cal Baptist and No. 1 BYU.

Gonzalo Quiroga adjusted his feet and calmly threw the ball up in the air. The junior outside hitter leapt up and cocked his right hand as if he was going to smash the ball just like the previous play. However, at the last second, he relaxed his arm and softly hit the ball over the net.