But No. 9-ranked UCI (12-12, 8-9) had another option in mind as it rallied for a 22-30, 22-30, 30-26, 30-27, 15-12 triumph that, as much as anything this season, shows them that in the proper time and place, they can defend their NCAA championship with purpose and poise.
“Long Beach is one of the top teams in the country and it’s playing well right now,” said UCI junior opposite Jon Steller, who led the winners with 26 kills and hit .500 for the match. “I think this gives us a huge confidence boost and, hopefully, we can carry that into this next week when we play [Cal State] Northridge, which is now No. 1.”
Steller was a consistent force at the net all night, but a lineup adjustment in which Speraw inserted Anthony Spittle at setter and Taylor Wilson at outside hitter after the first two games, seemed to help the Anteaters find their rhythm.
“I thought Anthony gave us some nice consistency,” Speraw said of the freshman who finished with a team-best 30 assists. “I thought he set a very nice match. And it wasn’t even that [junior Ryan Ammerman, who started and produced 25 assists] set a poor match. I don’t think we were passing very well [in the first two games]. It’s just that when you’re down, 0-2, you want to change things up.”
Speraw also wanted to see Wilson — a 6-foot-7 junior who started as a sophomore, but has battled ankle problems that have sidelined him for much of this season — in the lineup at the same time as the 6-7 Steller.
“We practiced that lineup this week, but we’d never seen it in a match, so I was glad to get a look at it,” Speraw said.
