Returning from a road trip spanning three weeks and six matches, No. 2 UCLA will face Cal Baptist tonight, ready to get off to a strong start at home.
The Bruins went 5-1 on the road during one of the toughest portions of their schedule. While the trip saw them snap both their 21-set winning streak and 10-match winning streak, the Bruins came home pleased with their performance.
“Pepperdine was not our best performance,” coach Al Scates said. “It was probably a C, if you want me to give a grade. But we had a lot of A’s, as far as the road goes. ‘SC was an A, second night in Hawaii was an A. Pepperdine, Long Beach ““ those were our two matches that were a little shaky. Long Beach a lot shaky. … Overall I think that, comparing ourselves to road trips last year and the previous year, it was all pretty good.”
After a tough stretch on the road against some talented opponents, the Bruins appear to have an opportunity to ease into their return home, facing a struggling Lancers team.
Cal Baptist is just 3-12 on the year and has lost seven of its last eight matches. UCLA, however, takes no match lightly.
“We’re preparing for them to be a strong team,” redshirt senior quick hitter Weston Dunlap said.
“Coach just said they have a really, really strong server, and they took some good teams to five (sets), like BYU. And so you can’t take them lightly, because regardless if it’s a conference game or a (nonconference game) it still shows up on our record.”
After several road matches in which UCLA (14-2, 9-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) had to deal with odd lighting, low light fixtures and distracting ceilings, playing on a court they are accustomed to will be a relief.
“I think it’s more getting used to getting comfortable with a different setup,” senior setter Kyle Caldwell said.
“We’re used to playing in Wooden, and getting on a different court like in the Pyramid (against Long Beach State), you got a whole different system and you have to get used to the lights. … I think being at home, we’ll come out strong at the beginning and kind of maintain our run that we’ve had.”
The match is the beginning to a favorable end to UCLA’s regular season, with eight of the final 13 matches at home.
“We really got to take advantage of every game,” Dunlap said. “We know that Stanford has 11 out of 13 matches (at home) as well, and they’re ahead of us right now. So we can’t take any game lightly.”
Above all, Caldwell knows the team will have to play well during this home stretch in order to reclaim the nation’s top spot.
“Being a top team in the country, you have to defend your home court, and I think if we play strong, I think we can do that,” Caldwell said.