• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

Chris Peña and the rest of the Bruin team will take on the Trojans tonight.

When it comes to satisfying UCLA’s crosstown rivalry needs, one need not look further than the UCLA men’s volleyball team. With a 3-0 victory over the Trojans on Jan. 10 and some heady talk, the team provides Bruin fans with some much-needed bravado.

“There is definitely some carry over with the rivalry because we are blue and gold and they are crimson and ... whatever,” senior outside hitter J.T. Wenger said.

The No. 3 Bruins face the Trojans – who are in the middle of a five-match losing streak – tonight at USC’s North Gym. USC (1-5 overall, 0-3 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) is not particularly big, but makes up for its lack of size with solid play. Sophomore outside hitter Joao Grangeiro is only 6-foot-2, but “he can jump well, and he knows how to play,” said UCLA assistant coach Brian Rofer.

The Trojans feature Blake Tippett, a junior outside hitter who the Bruins recruited as a libero. Coach Al Scates said that opposite Pedro Leal is another top player for the Trojans, but the Bruins didn't face him in Santa Barbara on Jan. 10. Leal will play tonight.

“We have to be disciplined in blocking against USC, or they can beat us,” Rofer said.

The Bruins (6-1, 2-1) also relish the opportunity to play in the North Gym, a much smaller venue than UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion.

“It’s a treat to play in a smaller environment. Because we play on the road, we are used to it even though we play in a massive arena,” Wenger said.

Given the rivalry, one imagines the Bruins will face quite the hostile crowd, though some UCLA players downplay the rivalry.

“USC grads make more of a big deal about the rivalry than UCLA alumni,” senior middle blocker Chris Peña said. “I run into USC grads and it comes up, and I don’t care.”

However, those with more perspective see the reality of the rivalry, whether players do or not.

“(For) some of the younger guys who have always beaten USC, it hasn’t been a rivalry,” said Rofer, who lettered on the UCLA men’s volleyball team from 1978-80 as a middle blocker. “Some guys have never lost to USC. Some players don’t realize how nice it is to beat USC. Players say that there is no rivalry because they are used to beating them. If they lost, people would be upset.”

From the way the Bruins are talking, they don’t expect to be upset tonight.