The No. 2 UCLA men’s volleyball team swept Vanguard University 3-0 on Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion.
Luca Curci led the Bruins (14-3, 4-0 MPSF) with seven kills, while Sean Kelly and Ido David each added six. Trent Taliaferro and Andrew Rowan recorded 14 and 13 assists, respectively. UCLA hit .371 as a team and held the Lions (6-11, 1-5 MPSF) to .154 hitting.
In the first set, the teams traded points early before UCLA pulled ahead 9-6 with a kill from David. The teams took turn scoring points until a service ace by Matthew Edwards extended the lead to 18-14, and a block from Cooper Robinson and Christopher Hersh pushed it to 19-14. Rowan set up Kelly for the final point in a 25-18 win.
UCLA opened the second set with a kill from Coleman McDonough, but Vanguard responded with a 4-0 run to take a 4-1 lead. The Bruins answered with a run of their own, tying the set at 4-4 after a Robinson kill. David followed with another kill, assisted by McDonough, to put UCLA ahead 5-4.
David tallied UCLA’s third ace of the match for a 9-7 lead before teaming up with Edwards for a block, making it 10-7. A dominant serving stretch from David, including three consecutive aces, helped extend the Bruins’ advantage to 13-7. Later in the set, UCLA rotated its lineup, bringing in Curci, Spencer Graves, and Taliaferro, and stretched the lead to 23-14. Curci closed the set with a kill, giving the Bruins a 25-16 win and a 2-0 lead.
Vanguard took an early 6-4 lead in the third set before Micah Wong Diallo entered and provided an immediate kill to cut the deficit to 6-5. The teams exchanged points through the middle portion of the set until Vanguard pulled ahead 14-10.
Wong Diallo recorded his second kill of the set, trimming the deficit to 15-12. The teams continued to trade points, with Vanguard maintaining a 20-17 lead. Kelly responded with a kill to make it 20-18.
UCLA rallied late, tying the set at 22-22 after a Curci kill. David Decker then delivered a service ace to give the Bruins a 24-22 lead. Wong Diallo sealed the win with his third kill of the set, clinching a 25-22 victory and completing the 3-0 sweep.
Cooper Robinson executes an impressive kill in the second set. The outside hitter totaled four kills, one ace, and five blocks across the three sets on Saturday night. Photographed by Julia Gu/BruinLife
Junior Andrew Rowan serves early in the first set. The setter had an impressive 13 assists in this second game against Vanguard. Photographed by Julia Gu/BruinLife
Trent Taliaferro sets the ball to his teammate during warmups before taking on Vanguard. The setter is a freshman at UCLA and made his debut as a Bruin earlier this season against Saint Francis. Photographed by Regan Rhodes/BruinLife
Sean Kelly prepares to serve late in the third set. A freshman outside hitter, Kelly brought in six kills for UCLA tonight, for a total of 17 kills against the Lions in the two consecutive games. Photographed by Julia Gu/BruinLife
Ido David celebrates another strong game. The senior player continued his stellar performance this season, bringing in six kills, four aces, and one block for UCLA. Photographed by Julia Gu/BruinLife
Ido David prepares to serve up yet another ace against the Lions. The senior recorded a season high of four aces during the Bruin sweep of Vanguard. Photographed by Regan Rhodes/BruinLife
The Bruins celebrate a match point in the third set. UCLA brought in a total of 37 kills, nine aces, and 16 blocks against the Lions. Photographed by Julia Gu/BruinLife
Matthew Edwards exchanges high-fives with teammates. The middle blocker brought in a crucial service ace in the first set. Photographed by Julia Gu/BruinLife.
