Most people don’t go to Hawaii for a cruise in mid-January. But the UCLA men’s volleyball team isn’t most people.
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Playing in the Outrigger Hotels Invitational in Hawaii, the Bruins cruised to an undefeated outing, winning nine of 10 total sets in three days. No. 3 UCLA (5-1) followed a win against No. 9 Lewis (3-2) with consecutive straight set victories against Springfield College (0-3) and No. 13 Hawai’i (2-3).

“I think it’s more of a mind-set that we’ve been having ever since we lost to (UC Irvine) in the Santa Barbara tournament,” senior setter Kyle Caldwell said. “For most of us it’s our last year, and we can’t leave anything to chance.”

True to his word, Caldwell did just that. He left no chance for anyone save himself to be named tournament MVP with his performance.

Averaging over eight assists per set coming into Hawaii, he elevated his game to over 11 assists per set in three games to steal the spotlight.

Caldwell also earned first team all-tournament honors along with senior quick hitter Thomas Amberg and redshirt senior outside hitter Jermey Casebeer.

Amberg led the Bruins’ charge early against Springfield with seven kills in the first set.

“We like to go to the middle early and to establish ourselves that we’re a threat in that way,” Amberg said.

Down 12-15 in the second set, Amberg stepped up for an encore. He hammered three kills in a 7-1 UCLA run, and the Bruins never looked back, taking the set 25-21.

Amberg finished the match with game-highs of 13 kills and a .688 hitting percentage.

As a team the Bruins hit .395 against Springfield, but more impressively, they put the Pride’s offense on life support. UCLA’s defense suppressed Springfield to a .200 hitting percentage.

Before the tournament, coach Al Scates sought better hitting from his outside hitters. Sophomore outside hitter Gonzalo Quiroga and Casebeer delivered on the coach’s wish.

In the finale against Hawai’i, Quiroga pitched in 11 kills. Coupled with Casebeer’s 13 kills, the Bruins outhit the Warriors .341 to .306.

“Casebeer hit .435 which was incredible – probably one of his best hitting nights ever,” Scates said.

Yet each set against Hawai’i was still too close for comfort. But UCLA, supported by its senior leadership, didn’t wilt under the pressure. Down 19-21 in the second set, the Bruins rallied behind four Caldwell assists to steal the set 25-23.

“When everyone puts the ball away, it makes it easier for me to distribute the ball because now they have no idea where the ball is going to go,” Caldwell said. “It confuses the blockers with one-on-one situations, and it helps the hitters out a lot.”

The Bruins also won the service battle to help them edge out the Warriors.

“We probably served the best we served all year,” Scates said.

“We only made 16 percent error, and that’s our team goal. That’s the first time we met that goal.”

Now the Bruins hope to ride this wave of momentum back from Hawaii into their first conference against Stanford on Friday.