Despite their status as reigning national champions, UCLA men’s volleyball has lost back-to-back rematches against the very team they defeated in the title game last May: top-rated Long Beach State.
A mere five days after a sold-out Walter Pyramid bore witness to their four-set loss to the Beach, UCLA was graced with a shot at redemption at home in Pauley Pavilion, but once again fell short of a win, suffering their third loss of the season (25-23, 25-19, 25-23).
In a podcast episode covering the rivalry, junior middle blocker Cameron Thorne shared head coach John Hawks’ message to the team in the aftermath of their first battle with Long Beach State: “We kind of have to shift our mindset. . . . He was talking to us about what we kind of need to change from the service line on certain servers, and what we need to do offensively in different situations.”
Thorne cited the Bruins’ 26 service errors as a key factor in their Friday night loss. Though UCLA managed to marginally improve their performance at the service line this time around, the team-wide struggle remained their Achilles heel. They earned just a single ace–courtesy of redshirt junior outside hitter Cooper Robinson–and amassed 15 total errors, one of which cost them the first set.
But Hawks’ words of wisdom were not entirely in vain: things did change. UCLA’s offense bettered their hitting percentage from .304 to .361, with improved tempo and ball placement revitalizing the connection between junior setter Andrew Rowan and his arsenal of hitters. Robinson was responsible for 16 kills whilst Thorne, junior outside hitter Zach Rama and redshirt sophomore opposite David Decker each contributed five a piece.
Defensively, the team seemed better adjusted to the Beach’s competitive offense and prowess at the service line. Rowan wowed the audience with six crucial digs–triple that of the team’s liberos. UCLA made far fewer receiving errors, three to last week’s nine, and acclaimed freshman setter Moni Nikolov, who had accrued seven aces in Friday night’s match-up, only bested the Bruins’ back row a single time.
The UCLA coaching staff also endeavored to adapt to their formidable opponent, responding to a significant point deficit in the second set by debuting an altered line-up in the third. The new rotation featured Rama, Robinson and freshman outsider hitter Sean Kelly as the pins, all of whom aided the Bruins in their uphill climb.
The change was effective; before the media timeout, the Bruins held a 16-12 score–one of their biggest leads of the game–but hope dwindled as they failed to maintain the four point cushion in the face of the Beach’s swift comeback. In the end, they were unable to close out the set, sealing their fate with a final few fatal errors.
And so, for the second time in the past week, Long Beach State walked away with the win.
The now 6-3 Bruins have a week to regroup and prepare before they face the No. 2 Anteaters at UC Irvine on February 19.
UCLA's outside hitter, Cooper Robinson, launches himself high to deliver a powerful serve. Photographed by Ryan Zhang/BruinLife.
Coach Nick Vogel watches closely as UCLA serves on game point of set three. Vogel is a UCLA men's volleyball alumni, playing from 2009 to 2012. Photographed by Ryan Zhang/BruinLife.
UCLA's Sean McQuiggan and Cooper Robinson jump high at the net to block Long Beach State's attack. Photographed by Ryan Zhang/BruinLife.
UCLA's Cooper Robinson leaps high to spike the ball over Long Beach State defenders. Photographed by Ryan Zhang/BruinLife.
UCLA right side hitter #19 David Decker attempts to block Long Beach State's #8 Sotiris Siapanis' tip over the net. Photographed by Ryan Zhang/BruinLife.
