By Daniel Miller
Daily Bruin Contributor
MALIBU “”mdash; After being in the driver’s seat of the
MPSF conference, the top-ranked UCLA men’s volleyball team
has relinquished control of that comfortable position and now can
only sit shotgun after losing 3-0 to No. 2 Pepperdine Saturday
night.
The Bruins (23-4, 15-3 MPSF) were swept 30-27, 30-27, 30-23 in
front of a near-capacity crowd of 3,037 at Firestone Fieldhouse in
a match that they played without junior middle blocker Scott Morrow
and freshman outside hitter Jonathan Acosta.
Injury has been an upsetting theme to UCLA’s season.
Morrow could miss up to four weeks with a tear in his quadriceps
tendon, and Acosta could return to practice as early as this week
as he continues to deal with a torn abdominal muscle. The team is
learning to play through the injuries.
“We have to be prepared to play without the
starters,” UCLA head coach Al Scates said. The players in
their place do not have a lot of experience, but the rookies will
get experienced.”
Scates noted the play of freshman middle blocker Paul Johnson,
who filled in for Morrow against Pepperdine. Johnson posted seven
kills and two block assists, though Scates said that Johnson
currently does not have the experience to block like Morrow, one of
the better blockers in the country.
In addition to the injuries, UCLA was held back by its poor
execution of fundamentals.
“We did not pass well,” Scates said.
“Pepperdine knew where the ball was going. With the win, they
will be the No. 1 team.”
The Bruins were led by sophomore middle blocker Chris Peña,
who made 15 kills and had a hitting percentage of .667. Senior
outside hitter Matt Komer had 12 kills as the Bruins hit only
.280.
“We did not block very well,” Peña said.
“The bottom line is that we want to take the loss as a
learning experience. We know we can play better and we really need
to work harder and buckle down because we are going to have to play
more matches like this.”
Peña was correct ““ the Bruins did not block well,
posting five blocks while the Waves had 22, stuffing the Bruins
often.
Pepperdine was led by Brad Keenan ““ who had 12 kills and
six block assists ““ and also got consistent efforts from its
others starters, as the Waves hit at a .398 clip.
“Pepperdine and UCLA are two of the nation’s top
teams, and I would be awfully surprised if our paths did not cross
again later in the season,” Wave head coach Marv Dunphy said
in a statement. “We served tough and blocked well, and that
helps creates a lot of options for us on the offensive
end.”
UCLA is 1-2 against Pepperdine this season. The loss snapped the
Bruins’ nine-match winning streak and extended the
Waves’ tear to nine straight victories.
One cannot help but wonder what the outcome of the match would
have been had the Bruins been at full strength. While it is clear
that injuries have hurt the team, Peña’s outlook may be
the best way for the team to deal with its setbacks.
“There is no going back,” he said. “We have to
get those guys (Morrow and Acosta) out of our heads for now. We
have to concentrate on what we have.”