| Men’s Volleyball |
|---|
| CSUN — 0 |
| UCLA — 3 |
The No.1 ranked UCLA men’s volleyball team (11-0, 3-0 MPSF) continued their 11 winning streak Friday night remaining undefeated. They won a straight set victory over CSUN (7-4, 0-0 Big West) at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA took the win 3-0 with set scores of 25-18, 25-20 and 25-22.
UCLA had come out strong in the beginning, having an 8-4 advantage as senior setter Andrew Rowan was noteworthy. Senior outside hitter Zach Rama was also noteworthy, giving the first service ace to further increase their lead. As well, redshirt junior opposite hitter David Decker and sophomore outside hitter Sean Kelly worked together to weaken CSUN’s defense. Even though Grayson Albers had delivered an ace pushing CSUN within four points, lessening the gap, UCLA had gained back control. UCLA had ended the first set with a strong kill from Kelly, both Kelly and Decker had finished the set with five kills.
The second set further was the tightest of the match as there was a back and forth play as both sides couldn’t pull away early enough. Although UCLA once again came in strong, with junior middle blocker Micah Wong Diallo delivering a kill which put the bruins in the lead 16-14.
CSUN came in hot in the opening of the third set, rising to a 7-2 lead and forcing UCLA to have an early timeout. But once again UCLA came back and won five of the next six points. Decker played impressively as he had his second ace of the game, bringing the set at 11-11. Consecutive kills by Wong Diallo, as well as senior middle blocker Cameron Thorne’s solo block, gave UCLA the first lead of the set. From there, the Bruins began to find their rhythm offensively, tightening up defensively at the net and forcing CSUN into difficult swings as momentum noticeably shifted in UCLA’s favor.
Rowan delivered an ace, bringing the lead to 17-14 and a Decker and Thorne block helped the Bruins go to 19-17 and this brought the Bruins to a final win of 25-22, finishing the sweep. The Bruins’ composure in the closing points proved decisive, as they limited errors and capitalized on CSUN’s overpasses. Strong serving pressure kept the Matadors out of system, while steady passing allowed UCLA to run its offense efficiently. With balanced contributions across the lineup, UCLA sealed the set with confidence and authority.
After this win UCLA still remains on fire, having a winning streak. The UCLA men’s volleyball team will further continue to try to bring that exact dynamic into a matchup next week on Friday, Feb. 20, at 7:00 p.m. PST, hosted by Bruins at Pauley Pavilion against No.2 Long Beach State.
