The Pacifican - Pacific Men’s Volleyball beat UCLA for the First Time in Program History

Pekka Seppanen
(Kuopio, Finland)
#13

1.) It felt great to beat UCLA. First of all, we played really well as a team, and second it is remarkable that the victory was the first ever in program history.

2.) The highlight of the match was definitely the play in our lead of 28-27 in game 3 when Matt Cornell bounced the ball up after his block to about 35-40 feet off the net and Maor Nutkevitch set somehow a perfect ball to the net from there and I hit the ball down. That set was just amazing, that is definitely one of the best plays of NCAA volleyball this year!

3.) I attribute our recent success and getting in top the 10 in the nation to our hard work during fall semester... We did a good job in the gym with coaches and also our physical coach Brent Salazar did great work getting us stronger and faster. Also, the team chemistry works and the attitude before we step on the court is that we are going to win.

4.) My goals as a player are to play consistently all season. As a team we want to be a top 8 team in the nation, and get to the playoffs. After getting to the playoffs anything can happen... Final Four is not impossible for this team, and that is the ultimate season long-term goal.

5.) Against UC Irvine our energy and mindset was not what it should have been. We beat them when they were #2 at Irvine a couple weeks ago. They came here to get revenge. We didn’t play on our own level, but the performance by Irvine was also outstanding, and we have to give credit to them.

Matthew Cornell
(Granada Hills, Calif.)
#16

1.) Beating UCLA for the first time in school history was one of the best wins Pacific Volleyball has had. It felt like a weight was being lifted off the program.

2.)The entire game was a great highlight for how well we could actually play together. Our defense was tremendous and our blocking limited their opportunities.

3.) Our recent success can be attributed to a great deal of consistency on the court. We take each point one at a time; we don’t look past what we can do at the present.

4.) As a player, it is my goal to play the very best I can on every play to help the team succeed. In the past, it was easy for players to get caught up with individual statistics and end up hurting the team; however, this year we realize that we need to play together, as a unit, to have the greatest success. Our goal this entire year has been to make playoffs. We never forgot this goal and we play everyday with this goal in mind.

5.) After beating UCI in 5 games in Irvine the weekend before, we knew that Irvine would come out seeking
revenge. They out-served us, out-blocked us, and out dug us - they played better than we did, and they earned the win.

Andreas Baboulidis
(Ruesselsheim, Germany)
#9

1.) Felt great to beat UCLA, it was huge for the program but also for our team because we were so close the week before.

2.) How we came back at the end of the third game to sweep them in 3 and of course the final block to beat them.

3.) Us- working hard for a long time. Most of the team has been together for a year so we play well together.

4.) Our minimum goal is to make the playoffs. Once we are there we will reassess what we want to do. Also, we will try not to play like we did against UCI again. Especially at home we will try to beat any team.

5.) First of all UCI is a very, very good team. They were on a mission after losing to us the week before. So they played very well, and we had a sluggish start in all of the sets. It is very tough to play them once you are down by a couple of points.

Daniel Hammer
(Glendale, Wis.)
#10

1.) It was amazing to beat UCLA. Our program has never defeated the Bruins. It was a big win for this season and for anyone who jersey.

2.) The highlight from the UCLA game was the second to last play of the game. UCLA was close and were starting to rip their serve. After a poor pass, one of our players, in desperation passed the ball to the front row. Without hesitation, our outside hitter, Pekka, came in swinging, spiking the ball straight down on UCLA’s side. From that point on UCLA was done.

3.) I attribute our recent success to our mental toughness. When we focus we can be a very good volleyball team. In order to be successful in our league you have to be prepared to battle every match. Any night, any team can beat another. If you cannot display a focused, persistent attitude you will lose.

4.) As a player my goal is to be a contributing part of the team and constantly encouraging my teammates to push themselves. Our team goal this year is to behave and train in a manner that will enable us to win in all situations. Our season goal is to make the playoffs and excel there.

5.) Against Irvine, we were flat. The mental toughness mentioned above was nonexistent. It was a hiccup, but we learned from it and are moving on.

Simon L. Chen-Byerley
(Northfield, Ill.)
#14

1.) It was great beating UCLA! That was the first time in program history we beat UCLA and it was in 3!

2.) Pekka’s kill when the ball was set to him from 10 feet behind the endline.

3.) Our goal is to make the playoffs and win our way into the final four.

4.) Irvine is a very good team; we played them the weekend before and won in 5 games. This weekend they came out crushing their serves which really got us out of rhythm and we had a hard time running our offense.

Blake Gentry
(Ladera Ranch, Calif.)
#4

1.) It felt great to beat UCLA. We had never beaten them as a program in 26 matches over the last 13 years or so. We have come extremely close to doing so a number of times including the week before our victory when we lost a hard-fought match in 5 games. Our coach reminded us after the win that this was a victory for everybody who had ever put on a Pacific Men’s Volleyball jersey and we shared that sentiment.

2.) The most incredible moment of the UCLA game (and one of the best plays I’ve seen) was in the 3rd game with the score at 28-27 Pacific. UCLA hit the ball of our block and was saved by Matt Cornell. Maor chased the ball over to the Pacific bench and made a backwards bump set to Pekka while running full speed away from the net. The ball ended up about 1 foot off the net and UCLA was totally unprepared for it. Pekka hammered it down and the Spanos center went wild. Most of us had the feeling after that play there was no way we were going to lose that match.

3.) A lot of our success this year can be attributed to our improved mental game. We have mostly the same roster as last season when we finished a disappointing 10th in conference. However, because of our level of experience playing together, we are much better at fighting back after things don’t go our way and about not letting past plays affect the next point.

4) Our team goal this season was very clearly to make the MPSF playoffs. As we have done well this season, many of us also hope that we can place in the top 4 in conference and host a firstround playoff game. We feel that although we lack the superstar talent of some other teams in our difficult conference, we can win by playing better as a team.

5.) First off, it’s important to understand that Irvine is an extremely good team. They have been ranked #1 in the country for most of the past 2 seasons and they have four returning All-Americans, guys who have been playing together for 3 or 4 years. Winning at their gym last week was an outstanding accomplishment. They were extremely focused coming into our gym on Saturday and had worked extremely hard to prepare for their revenge. We simply couldn’t find our rhythm against them this time. We had one of our poorer showings of the year and they played like a championship team.

Regardless of the loss to Irvine, we still accomplished a lot by going 1-1 with both UCLA and UCI this season.