| Men’s Volleyball |
|---|
| UC Irvine — 3 |
| UCLA – 2 |
“It’s not anything any of us expected just because of how confident we are,” senior setter Andrew Rowan said after the heartbreaking and shocking loss for UCLA.
UCLA fell to UC Irvine in five sets, winning only the second and fourth, 23-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-19, 14-16.
On Saturday evening at Pauley Pavilion, No. 1 UCLA men’s volleyball (29-2, 13-1 MPSF) faced No. 6 UC Irvine (20-8, 5-5 Big West). UCLA served first but sophomore outside hitter Sean Kelly missed. Junior middle blocker Micah Wong Diallo managed to get the first kill for UCLA.
UCLA took their first timeout 9-6, trailing by three and Irvine going on a 4-0 run. Both the Bruins and Anteaters exchanged points continuously tying the game but the Anteaters remained ahead when they weren’t tied. The Bruins seemed to rely a lot on the Anteaters to miss their serves.
Irvine got set point first at 24-20. But UCLA went on a 3-0 scoring run to catch up at 24-23. With only one point down Bruin fans were hopeful but the Anteaters ultimately managed to secure the first set.
UCLA opened up the second set with the first two points but Irvine quickly took the lead getting the following three points. After back-to-back kills from senior middle blocker Cameron Thorne, UCLA trailed by one point at 4-5. Wong Diallo then was also able to get back to back kills to bring UCLA up 8-6.
Irvine called a timeout while being down three. And after that much needed timeout, they were able to tie the game at 10-10. But the Bruins then went on a 4-0 scoring run to get ahead. UCLA continued to get ahead and eventually reached set point at 24-17. Thorne delivered the final kill and that final kill accidentally hit William D’Arcy right in the face. Thorne immediately went over to help D’Arcy up.
After winning the second set and tying the match, UCLA was hoping to continue on the momentum they found during the previous set. They trailed half of the first set but then managed to tie at 18-18 and then again at 20-20.
UCLA then broke the tie and got ahead by two but the Anteaters ended up taking the third set, 25-23.
Going into the fourth set, it was very clear UCLA was prepared. They started off the set with a decent lead and although eventually the Anteaters did catch up and tie at 9-9, they found a way to take the lead again. Thorne’s quick thinking allowed him to pick up a tip from Irvine, assisting senior outside hitter Zach Rama in a successful attack, forcing a timeout call by Irvine.
UCLA went on to win the fourth set at 25-19.
The fifth set of this match was one to remember for both Bruin and Anteater fans.
Bruin fans screamed in excitement thinking the No. 1 men’s volleyball team had won the match, but a few minutes later it would be the Anteater fans celebrating the win.
Irvine struggled and missed their first few serves of the set. Halfway through the set, Irvine hit the ball out giving UCLA the point but they later challenged the play saying a Bruin touched the ball. They were unsuccessful and the point stayed with UCLA.
With Rowan serving and UCLA at set point everyone was on their feet. He served the ball, Irvine returned it and it went out. This gave UCLA their final point. Bruin fans were jumping and cheering but just a few seconds after victory for the Bruins, Irvine challenged the call and they were successful, a Bruin had touched the ball on that previous play before it went out of bounds.
A wave of shock spread in Pauley Pavilion.
The Bruins could not believe that just like that the win was taken from them and the Anteaters could not believe they still had a chance to defeat the No. 1 team.
After the successful challenge from Irvine, they managed to get ahead and win the set at 16-14.
Kelly ended the night with 26 kills and Rama contributed 20.
“Sad for all of us that it ends today,” head coach John Hawks said when talking about the team and their love for each other.
With this saddening loss, the Bruins end their incredible long season and say goodbye to seniors Rowan, Thorne and Rama. The NCAA Semifinals and the NCAA Championship game will be held in Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, May 9 at 3:30 p.m. PT and Monday, May 11 at 4 p.m. PT, respectively.
