UCLA
BYU
Bruins Pay Back Cougars with Sweep
January 29, 2005 | Men's Volleyball
Jan. 29, 2005
Top-ranked UCLA avenged Friday night's loss to BYU with a convincing sweep on Saturday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.
The Bruins won 30-21, 30-24, 30-26 in 90 minutes before 6,072 disappointed partisans. The victory ended a five-match losing streak in Provo, UT and earned UCLA a crucial split in the conference series. UCLA raised its record to 8-1 overall and 4-1 in MPSF play. BYU fell to 6-3, 2-2.
It appeared as if the Cougars would ride the momentum of Friday's win early in Game 1, jumping out to a 4-0 lead behind two kills by Taylor Evans. The Cougars had their largest lead at 9-3 before the Bruins charged back, tying the game at 10-10. It was all UCLA from there as the Bruins capitalized on several BYU errors to win 30-21. Taylor Evans and Victor Batista had four kills each to lead BYU. UCLA had three aces to disrupt the Cougars' passing.
The Cougars were unable to recover, and fell behind early in Game 2. UCLA led by as many as six at 19-13, again taking advantage of several BYU errors. The Cougars cut the lead to three at 21-24, but the Bruins were too much as they took the game 30-24, winning on a kill by senior Paul Johnson.
Game 3 was more of the same as UCLA jumped ahead 6-5 and maintained the lead the rest of the game. Down 19-13, BYU made things interesting, closing the gap to 26-28. The Bruins would not let the Cougars get any closer as they scored the next two points to take the game, 30-26, and the match.
The Bruins won this match with improved hitting and serving. While they hit just .234 the previous evening, they improved 24 hours later by hitting .322. They also limited the Cougars, who hit .279 last night, to an attack ratio of .234. The Bruins served seven aces in three games, compared to four aces in four games last night.
Senior Kris Kraushaar led the way for UCLA Saturday with 11 kills (.471), two aces and two total blocks. Johnson added nine kills (.389), three aces and three total blocks. Jonathan Acosta and Allan Vince each contributed eight kills. Acosta hit .500 with a pair of aces and Vince hit .312 with one block assist. Junior setter Dennis Gonzalez started his first match and recorded a season-high of 39 assists, three kills (.750) and one solo block.
Another key to UCLA's victory was its effectiveness in limiting BYU All-American Michael Burke to just four kills (.083) in 12 swings. Last night he burned the Bruins for 13 kills while hitting .450 with 10 blocks. In the loss Batista led the Cougars with 15 kills and Evans was limited to eight kills after leading BYU last night with 17.
The Bruins continue their road trip locally with conference matches next week at Cal State Northridge (Feb. 2) and UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 4). They begin a six-match homestand Feb. 9 with a match against Long Beach State.
