UCLA
BYU
Bruins Outlast Top-Ranked Cougars, 3-2
April 09, 2004 | Men's Volleyball
April 9, 2004
The third-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team upset top-ranked BYU Friday night with a 3-2 come-from-behind conference victory in Pauley Pavilion.
The Bruins (21-5, 15-5) won 28-30, 26-30, 30-22, 30-27, 15-9 in front of 1,909 raucous fans in two hours and 21 minutes. BYU fell to 22-4 overall, 18-2 in league action. The victory snapped the Cougars' 21-match winning streak and their four-match winning streak against the Bruins.
"This was a big victory for our team's confidence," said UCLA head coach Al Scates. "It gives us momentum and the home court advantage for the playoffs."
The Bruins held the lead in the first two games only to watch the Cougars battle back late in each and pull away. In the first game, the Bruins held a 20-18 lead before the Cougars tied it and began inching away. In Game 2, the teams were tied 19-19 when the Cougars took a lead they never gave up.
In Game 3, Scates substituted senior Marcin Jagoda for freshman Steve Klosterman at opposite and senior J.T. Wenger for junior Jonathan Acosta at outside hitter. The gambits paid huge dividends. Jagoda slammed seven kills in eight attempts and Wenger pounded eight kills in 13 attempts (.615) with an ace. The Bruins built a 16-8 lead, and although the Cougars narrowed the gap to three points, they could not seal the sweep.
Jagoda and Wenger continued to shine in Game 4. Jagoda hammered six more kills and seniors Chris Pena and Paul Johnson combined for six kills, two aces and one block assist. Wenger added two kills and two blocks. The Bruins built an eight-point lead (22-14) and still held a 24-17 lead when the Cougars went on a 6-1 run to close the deficit to 25-23. But a kill by Johnson and a triple block by setter Dennis Gonzalez, Wenger and Johnson gave the Bruins two key points and a 27-23 lead. The Cougars managed one last scare at 29-27, but Pena closed out the game with a kill to the center of the court.
In Game 5 the Bruins took a 9-6 lead before BYU called timeout and later closed the gap to 9-8. A kill by Jagoda gave the Bruins a two-point cushion before BYU scored again to make it 10-9. Wenger and Pena smashed two kills for a 12-9 lead, and BYU burned its last timeout. With Wenger on the service line, Jagoda's kill made it 13-9. Then Wenger served consecutive aces to close out the match.
"I was glad to see that our conditioning paid off," said Scates. "We got stronger as the match wore on. It was a good win for us."
Jagoda finished as the Bruins' kill leader with 15 (.667) and two total blocks. Kraushaar added 13 (.370) and an ace, and Wenger and Pena each contributed 12 kills, and they combined for five total blocks.
BYU's Fernando Pessoa led both teams with 26 kills (.462). Joe Hillman added 16 kills and Jonathan Alleman added 14.
In team stats, the Bruins out-hit the Cougars, .376-.362, served 10 aces to BYU's three and out-blocked them, 10.5-9.0.
The Bruins will finish their home season on Wed., Apr. 14 against Cal State Northridge in the Wooden Center at 7 p.m.
