#8 UCLA Men's Volleyball Takes First Match vs. #1 BYU; Rematch This Afternoon
For the first time since 2009, the UCLA men's volleyball team was victorious in Provo.
The UCLA men’s volleyball team reached competitive greatness Thursday evening, beating the #1 BYU Cougars in Provo in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) match, 25-22, 25-21, 15-25, 25-22. The fou- set match was tight and hard fought from the beginning with UCLA holding BYU to just a .168 hitting percentage for the entire match.
In set one, BYU took control early, getting out in front 5-1. With some key blocks, the Bruins were able to make headway and close to within one at 10-9. The Cougars kept UCLA at bay until the score was finally tied at 19. A spot-on service by Kyle Vom Steeg and a kill by Austin Matautia gave the Bruins a very narrow 21-20 lead. A block from Sam Kobine and a point by Marcus Partain set UCLA up for the win when Adam Parks delivered the winning point for a score of 25-22.
In set two, the Bruins once again found themselves behind but finally got a narrow 9-8 lead after a Cougar service error. UCLA and the Cougars exchanged points for the middle of the set until UCLA took a 19-18 advantage. The Bruins continued the advance and another kill by Parks gave UCLA the 25-21 win.
Set three did not start out well for as BYU began by taking the first seven points. The deficit continued to the middle of the set as the teams split the next 14 points. UCLA was never able to recover and lost this set 15-25.
The fourth and final set started out much differently with UCLA taking a 5-2 early lead. BYU was only able to come within one point twice, but never held a lead in this set. The largest lead by UCLA was at 11-6 and, although the Cougars came within two at 16-14, a kill by Champlain helped push the Bruins on to a 22-16 lead. BYU held off UCLA’s 25th point three times, but a Cougar error gave UCLA the 25-22 win.
Today’s Match
After holding the hitting advantage yesterday at .237, UCLA is looking to sweep BYU in this afternoon’s match. Both teams had 8.5 blocks in their last meeting, but the Cougars were able to out-ace the Bruins 7-2. This should be another a tough matchup and a showcase of the top men’s volleyball teams in the country.
#8 UCLA Men’s Volleyball (2-0)
Opponent: #1 BYU Cougars (0-1)
When: 3:00 pm PT, Saturday, February 6, 2021
Where: Smith Fieldhouse, Provo, UT
TV: BYU TV
Live Stream: BYUTV.org (registration req’d)
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Match Notes
Go Bruins!
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So I looked up the Men's Volleyball schedule and it's "cancelled" for most games. Was the season cancelled because of Covid? If not, does anyone know when they are playing? My son is playing in Club Volleyball and wanted to catch some college Volleyball with him