UCLA Men's Volleyball Opens MPSF Tourney Against Concordia
The Bruins finished the regular season on a high note by beating top seed BYU, 3-1.
The UCLA men’s volleyball team will begin play in the MPSF Men’s Volleyball Tournament this afternoon when the Bruins square off against the number seven seed Concordia Eagles. UCLA finished the regular season in second place in the MPSF standings with a 14-5 mark to qualify as the number two seed in the tournament.
Last Time Out
The Bruins closed out the regular season with a four-set win over MPSF regular season champ BYU at home. As a result, UCLA and BYU finished the season splitting four matches with each team winning one match at home and one on the road.
In the final match of the regular season, the Bruins defeated the Cougars, 25-18, 21-25, 27-25, 25-15. After the teams split the first two points, UCLA took the next two to open a 3-1 lead. From that point, BYU was unable to tie the set up, although they were able to pull within a point on the next volley. BYU would finally pull within a point again at 18-17, but a 7-1 Bruin run finished off the set 25-18.
UCLA had the lead for most of the second set. With the Bruins up 16-14, the Cougars went on a 4-0 run to take the lead and they didn’t relinquish it. UCLA managed to pull back with a point at 20-19, but that’s when BYU pulled away and went on to win the set, 25-21.
After the break, the Cougars came out with a vengeance by winning the first four points of the third set. In fact, BYU led for the entire set up until the first set point of the set when they led 24-23. The Bruins tied it on the next point, but the Cougars responded to earn another set point. With it now tied 25-25, Sam Kobrine picked up back-to-back kills to give UCLA their first set point. Cole Ketrzynski killed the next volley to wrap it up for the Bruins, 27-25.
UCLA scored three of the first four points of the fourth set, but BYU scored the next two points to tie the set up, 3-3. Those were the only consecutive points the Cougars could manage in the set. With it tied again at 5-5, the Bruins went on a 4-0 run to take the lead for good and they didn’t look back as UCLA cruised to a 25-15 win in the set and a 3-1 win in the match.
Concordia Eagles
While UCLA won the season series, two matches to one, the fact that the Bruins lost a match to the worst team in the MPSF is…concerning. That’s because now the Concordia Eagles know that they are capable of beating UCLA if they play well enough.
The Bruins are one of just two teams the Eagles beat this season. The other team they beat was Southern Cal, whom they beat once at the Galen Center and once at home.
That said, UCLA shouldn’t have too much trouble this afternoon when they face the Eagles on a neutral court. UCLA wins, 3-1.
MPSF Men’s Volleyball Tournament
Teams: No. 2 seed UCLA Bruins (14-5) vs. No. 7 seed Concordia Eagles (3-13)
When: 1:00 pm PT, Thursday, April 22, 2021
Where: Smith Fieldhouse, Provo, UT
TV: None
Live Stream: FloSports (subscription req’d)
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Match Notes
Go Bruins!
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