If the members of UCLA men’s volleyball team aren’t fired up for today’s matchup against USC, someone should check their pulses.

This is the first regular season matchup between the crosstown rivals since the now No. 3 Bruins were knocked out of the playoffs by the now No. 4 Trojans in the quarterfinals last season. This one has all the makings of a classic.

This will be UCLA’s biggest test since its match against Stanford two weeks ago, who was also ranked fourth at the time.

This time, the Bruins (10-1, 5-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) will be on the road for their dangerous matchup. The Bruins’ six-game road trip began Wednesday with their win over the Pepperdine Waves and figures to be a key stretch of the season for the Bruins to position themselves for postseason play.

“We have a nice, long road trip ahead, and we won’t be playing back on our home court until the end of February, so it’s going to be great to get some wins on the road right now, because they’re obviously the hardest to come by,” senior opposite Nick Vogel said.

“Then we finish off our season with a majority of home games, in which we have a huge advantage. We have a great crowd that comes out – water polo, volleyball girls come out. It’s just a great atmosphere we have at home.”

The Bruins also need this time on the road to learn about themselves as a team. While they have proven to be a dominant team at home, boasting a 4-0 record at the John Wooden Center, they looked much more fragile in their five-set win over Pepperdine on Wednesday.

“(Today) will be a big test,” redshirt senior outside hitter Jeremy Casebeer said. “We really have to prove that we can play on the road.”

After last week’s win at home over CSU Northridge, with UCLA in the midst of its 21-set winning streak, coach Al Scates thought this road trip would show what areas the team needs to address.

The Bruins had several sets in which they struggled to score and allowed the Waves to hit a high percentage against them. The Bruins’ difficulties in these areas ended their 21-set winning streak and brought their first match decided by five sets.

Coming off that match, one of the toughest of the season, UCLA faces an even stronger opponent in USC (5-3, 4-3 MPSF).

But playing against a rival like USC only means both teams will be competing even more intensely than normal.

“Everybody gets a little antsy. Everybody gets a little riled up, but it’s good,” Vogel said of the rivalry.

The match has playoff implications beyond the win-loss column, too.

“It will be good getting experience at the Galen Center because that’s where the Final Four is going to be held this year,” Vogel said. “So obviously we’re setting our sights toward that, and it’ll be good to get some experience in that gym.”

Before looking that far ahead, however, the Bruins must focus on bringing the energy to get past a Trojan team that has won the past five meetings.

“Of course we’ll be fired up for ’SC,” Scates said. “Oh, we’ll be ready to play. Don’t you worry about that.”