After defeating the team that gave it the most trouble this season, Long Beach State, UCLA now sets its sights on the team that gave it the least.
UCLA swept Cal State Northridge on Jan. 25 in a match that lasted just 63 minutes and will play the Matadors on the road tonight, hoping to pick up where it left off.
But the Bruins know that no team can be taken for granted.
“We never expect an easy match, but we expect them to come out a lot better than they were before,” senior quick hitter Thomas Amberg said. “They’ve had to have improved since then and although we beat them quickly last time, they have a lot of players that have the potential to really go off and play well.”
No. 1 UCLA will face a No. 14 Cal State Northridge team that is beginning to build some momentum, having swept UC San Diego on the road and beaten UC Santa Barbara 3-2 in the first match of their nine-match home stand.
The Bruins, however, have clearly recovered quickly from their loss two weeks ago against the 49ers, having swept all four matches since, including Wednesday night’s rematch against Long Beach State.
Looking to make it five straight, the Bruins must get past the Matadors and their German freshman opposite Julius Hoefer, who leads his team in kills with 151.
“We really need to make sure we focus early on their opposite from Germany and as long as we can slow him down early, I think we’ll be able to control the rest of the match,” Amberg said.
Playing on the road is another obstacle UCLA (16-2, 10-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) will have to overcome.
“They’ll be tougher at home,” coach Al Scates said. “They always serve a lot better at home. And they have to serve real well to beat us, I mean real hard. And they’ll be going for it, and if they get on a good serving roll, they’ll be competitive.”
The Bruins’ experience could reduce any home court advantage the Matadors are expecting, though.
“Especially having a lot of seniors on the team, a lot of experience, we’ve been in that gym a bunch of times, so none of these road matches are really fazing us too much,” senior opposite Nick Vogel said.
This match has all the makings of a trap game for UCLA. Northridge (6-9, 4-7) has been playing well as of late, it is playing at home and UCLA will face some tough teams in the matches following this one. But the Bruins are making sure not to get ahead of themselves.
“We’ve got to take care of Northridge,” Amberg said. “There is the feeling of UC Irvine and USC coming into our gym.”
Despite their history of success against Northridge, UCLA isn’t selling it short.
“We know that we have to come in ready to play every night,” Vogel said. “Our league is competitive, any team has the ability to beat anybody. And so we know that we have to be absolutely on our best game. And that’s got to carry throughout the entire season and the postseason. So that’ll be something we’re aiming to do (today). Northridge is always a tough gym to play in, but I think we’ll be able to handle it.”