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Volleyball player Gaby Acevedo decided to leave the UCLA program and return to Puerto Rico in ord

Citing his difficulty balancing academics and athletics as well as his father’s health issues, UCLA men’s volleyball setter Gaby Acevedo recently rescinded his scholarship from the volleyball team.

The announcement comes as a shock for the men’s volleyball program after Acevedo started the final two games of the Final Four and was a major part of the Bruins’ success.

“Gaby had a great command of the offense and knew the hot hitter,” said Al Scates, UCLA men’s volleyball coach. “He also took directions very well from the coaches and will be missed from the team.”

In the Final Four, Acevedo recorded 47 assists in the semifinals against Penn State and helped the Bruins almost win the NCAA Championship with 60 assists against Pepperdine.

As soon as the NCAA Tournament was over, however, Acevedo went home to Puerto Rico for several weeks and contemplated his experience at UCLA. When he returned to campus, he told Scates that he would not be returning to the team next year.

The reasoning behind Acevedo’s decision was his difficulty balancing academics and volleyball along with his father’s declining health.

“The mix of academics and athletics was too much for me,” Acevedo said. “I didn’t want to be in college for at least five years, which is what I would have to do to play on the team. It just wasn’t the best fit for me.”

Due to the time commitment that volleyball demands, Acevedo was having a hard time taking all the classes he needed, while maintaining a high GPA. This resulted in his dropping of all his classes except one during Spring quarter.

“I had decent grades, but it was hard to play volleyball and go to school, and I thought after the Final Four that it was time for me to move on,” Acevedo said. “I want to be just a college student. I would have loved to be a full-course student at UCLA because it is one of the best universities in the world.”

Another major factor that influenced his decision to return to Puerto Rico was the poor health of Acevedo’s father, Julio, and his desire to be closer to his family.

His father recently underwent a stomach operation, and Acevedo felt strongly that he should return home. His grandmother is also very ill, and Acevedo will now take part in running the family business, which is a professional summer volleyball league in Puerto Rico.

Acevedo’s father was the general manager and owner of one of the teams in the league.

“His father looked very pale when I saw him earlier this year, and he seemed to move slowly,” Scates said. ”I knew his grandmother was ill, but I wasn’t aware how ill his father was too.”

“The day Gaby came back from Puerto Rico, we had a meeting and he let me know about his father’s health and that he wanted to be close to his family.”

This summer, Acevedo will play in the Puerto Rican professional summer league that attracts players from all over the world in addition to taking summer school classes at the University of Puerto Rico.

In the fall, Acevedo plans to return to school to finish his communications major, and also play for the Puerto Rico National Team.

Infusing energy into the Bruins this year, Acevedo provided a boost to he team with his passion for the game. The redshirt freshman set the team in 55 games last season, averaging 10.45 assists per game. He started the first eight matches of the year before relinquishing the starting spot to Dennis Gonzalez.

”Gaby is an outstanding setter, and he certainly did a good job last year,” Scates said. “He always had a lot of energy, but Dennis is the same way, so we’re still in good hands even though he’s departing.”

“We also have (freshman recruit) Matt Wade coming in, and he’s another setter we could use.”

Even though he’s leaving UCLA, Acevedo feels that his two years spent here were well worth it.

“UCLA is a great place to be, and I made many friends that I will keep forever,” Acevedo said. ”Everyone on the team was great, and I’ll never forget the things we went through.”

“I enjoyed my experience to the last second, but I realized that my home is where I need to be.”