Speraw era opens for UCLA with preseason victories at USC Fall Tourney

The start of the John Speraw head coaching era at UCLA began on the court and with a winning record.

UCLA in its preseason debut won three of its five matches at the USC Fall Tournament during the weekend, including a 25-17, 23-25, 25-21 against its in cross-town rivals USC on Friday.

The victory against USC came after UCLA lost its tournament opener against Speraw’s former team and the defending NCAA champions UC Irvine. The two-game sweep was also the first meeting between the two schools since Speraw left UC Irvine in the summer to replace Hall of Fame coach Al Scates as UCLA’s head coach.

UCLA on the final day of the tournament swept Pacific 25-23, 25-18 and beat Stanford 28-30, 25-18, 25-21. The team opened Saturday losing to Cal State Northridge 25-19, 22-25, 25-12 for its second loss of the tournament.

The next major preseason tournament for MPSF schools will be UCLA’s SAC Tournament on Nov. 16-17.

Scores and results from USC Fall Invitational (Incomplete)
Friday’s scores
USC def. Cal Baptist 27-25, 25-23, 15-10
UC Irvine def.
UCLA def. USC 25-17, 23-25, 25-21

Saturday’s scores
Cal State Northridge def. UCLA 25-19, 22-25, 25-12
USC def. Grand Cayon 25-22, 25-23, 15-12
UCLA def. Pacific 25-23, 25-18, 25-20
UC Irvine def. USC 22-25, 27-25, 25-18
USC def. Pacific 25-17, 16-25, 15-11
UCLA def. Stanford 28-30, 25-18, 25-21