A sea of elementary school kids swarmed UCLA’s 6-foot-9-inch opposite hitter Nick Vogel following the Bruins’ first home match in almost a month. Whether they asked for autographs or pictures, Vogel obliged their wishes.
The UCLA men’s volleyball team capped its participation in the Adopt a Classroom program by hosting more than a hundred students to watch its Friday night game against Cal Baptist. In the program, many players each adopted a classroom and corresponded with their kids throughout the season, helping them improve their writing skills and offering encouragement.
But Cal Baptist didn’t receive such a warm welcome from the team as the No. 2 Bruins (15-2) dominated the Lancers (3-13) in a 3-0 sweep.
The Bruins took control of the match early, with a 25-16 first set win. Senior setter Kyle Caldwell led the charge for UCLA by showing his versatility. He had six kills, a 0.100 hitting clip, eight assists and four digs all in the first set and all set-highs.
“I think the passing set the tone and gave Kyle a lot of options, and he started attacking himself. They basically didn’t know who we were going to go to,” Vogel said.
Against the tough-serving Lancers, the Bruins passed exceptionally ““ especially off digs. This allowed Caldwell to have many options for the set, and he didn’t hesitate to take advantage.
All six of UCLA’s offensive starters had at least five kills for one of the team’s most balanced games of the season.
Caldwell finished with a game-high 25 assists.
“I thought he played well. I think he’s the best setter in the league,” said coach Al Scates. “The thing we’re working on is getting his hands higher to get the ball to our quick attackers sooner, which gives the block less time to respond, and he brought his hands up tonight.”
The second set was more of the same for the Bruins. UCLA led 15-11 midway and finished with a 25-19 win.
The set was highlighted by the Bruin’s stellar 0.632 hitting attack. It was UCLA’s most efficient set of the season so far.
In the final set, the Lancers threatened by knotting UCLA up at 10-10. The Bruins responded with a 15-5 run to seal the deal at 25-15. Redshirt junior setter Scott Vegas capped the decisive run with consecutive service aces.
“We realized it was 10-10 and we should win this game in three. Then we all kind of realized we can’t have this mental lapse like we’ve had in the past few games where we win the first two and then kind of let teams back in the third game,” Caldwell said.
Senior opposite hitter Nick Vogel led the balanced attack with nine kills and a 0.667 attack.
“Well everybody’s getting very comfortable in their positions. I’m fairly new to my position, and I’m starting to get the hang of it,” Vogel said.
UCLA’s blocking was another staple in its win. Cal Baptist managed to hit only 0.101 on the night, which included a sub-zero hitting clip in the third set.
“Well, we’re developing into a pretty good blocking team. It’s great to have such a big block up there, and especially when that’s happening it makes defense behind that block so much easier because they have fewer angles to hit, can’t hit as hard and it makes the whole job for everybody a lot easier,” Vogel said.