UCLA
BYU
Bruins Hand Cougars Another 3-1 Defeat
March 02, 2000 | Men's Volleyball
March 2, 2000
Sixth-ranked UCLA cemented its hold on second place in the MPSF Mountain Division with a 3-1 decision over third-ranked BYU in Pauley Pavilion Thursday night.
The Bruins won 2-15, 15-12, 15-8, 15-7 in two hours and twenty-seven minutes in front of 787 fans. The victory gave the Bruins a two-match sweep of the league series against the Cougars.
UCLA erased a near-perfect performance by BYU in Game 1, by rallying to win Game 2. The Cougars led by as much six in the second game at 9-3 before the Bruins inched back point by point. The Bruins finally tied it at 12-12 on a kill by third string middle blocker Greg Coon. Four sideouts later with Coon serving, the Bruins scored three straight points on a pair of blocks and a kill by freshman Scott Morrow. After being shut out, 6-0 at the net in Game 1, the Bruins recorded nine blocks in Game 2, and it proved to be the difference in the game and the match.
From there, the Cougars were doomed. As the match wore on, they wore out, making mistakes and failing to execute to the level of their Game 1 prowess. They held an early lead in Game 3 at 4-2, but the Bruins took an 8-2 lead on three kills, an ace and a pair of BYU attack errors. BYU climbed back to 8-6, but the Bruins wore them down by trading sideouts. Three of UCLA's final five points came as a result of BYU attack errors.
UCLA erased an early 3-1 BYU lead in Game 4 and moved out to an 8-4 lead on kills by senior Brandon Taliaferro and junior Mark Williams. BYU closed to within two at 8-6, but their rally fizzled when they committed five attack errors for points down the stretch to lose, 15-7.
UCLA won the battle at the net, recording 20 team blocks to BYU's 18.5, an incredible turnaround considering the Bruins averaged nearly seven blocks per game after Game 1. Sophomore Matt Komer pounded 23 kills, a career high, followed by 18 (.395) from Williams. Off the bench Thatcher recorded 16 kills (.343) and Coon added 10 (.368). Morrow led all players with 11 total blocks and Coon added seven, a career high.
Mike Wall led BYU with 19 kills (.205), followed by 16 apiece from Joaquin Acosta and Jaime Mayol. Scott Bunker led the Cougars with 10 block assists.
The Bruins host No. 9 Lewis on Sat., Mar. 4 at 7 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion.
