UCLA
Hawaii
UCLA Outlasts Hawaii in Four Games
February 25, 2005 | Men's Volleyball
Feb. 25, 2005
The No.1 ranked UCLA men's volleyball team won its eighth straight match, 15th of the season and took sole possession of first place in the MPSF race Friday night with tight 3-1 victory over No.3 ranked Hawaii.
The Bruins won 30-22, 30-26, 28-30, 37-35 in two hours and 10 minutes in front of a rowdy crowd of 1,288 in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins raised their record to 15-1 overall, 11-1 in league play. The Warriors fell to 10-2, 8-1.
The Bruins easily took the first game by controlling the net and forcing the Warriors into nine hitting errors. The Bruins outblocked the Warriors 4.0-2.0 and recorded 17 kills (.519). Hawaii recorded 15 kills, but hit .167 and senior Pedro Azenha, their top hitter, had just three kills in 11 attempts (.091).
Hawaii began to heat up in Game 2, as it recorded six blocks and hit .306 with 15 kills in 36 swings. UCLA cooled to .375, but added 22 kills and three aces. UCLA sophomore opposite Steve Klosterman, who recorded four kills in the first game, ignited for nine kills in 13 swings. Senior Paul Johnson also served two aces for the Bruins.
In Game 3 the Warriors took a 22-14 lead before the Bruins began climbing back. After a kill by UCLA's Jonathan Acosta made the score 22-15, senior Allan Vince served an ace and Hawaii called timeout. Vince served two more points, including another ace before UH got a sideout to make it 23-19. The teams traded points until Johnson came to the line at 25-21. He served an ace and then Klosterman hammered a kill, and the Bruins trailed by two at 25-23 when UH called its final timeout. Hawaii got a sideout and a three-point lead (26-23) on Jose Delgado's kill, but gave it back with a service error. Hawaii would make two more service mistakes and the Bruins trailed 29-28 after another Klosterman kill. On the first game point, Azenha converted a kill and UH had halved its deficit two games to one.
Things got interesting in the next game. Hawaii raced to a six-point lead before UCLA started another rally. Four times this season the Bruins have rallied from five points or more to win a game and, eventually, the match. They recorded their fifth such comeback in Game 4.
At 10-4, UCLA setter Dennis Gonzalez was forced to leave with back spasms, and was replaced by freshman Gaby Acevedo. Acevedo had led the Bruins to a 7-1 record to start the season, but was replaced after the loss on Jan. 28 at BYU. Gonzalez had been the starter during the current winning streak.
Despite the loss of their starting setter, the experienced Bruins battled back one more time. During the Bruins' run, the Warriors committed five errors, including a pair of service miscues until UCLA tied the score at 19-19 on a kill by senior Kris Kraushaar. The Bruins held a two-point lead at 24-22 when Kraushaar committed a service error and Azenha slammed a kill to give UH new life at 24-24. The Bruins called their first timeout, took a 25-24 lead on a kill by Acosta, then gave up two more points to go down 26-24. UCLA called its final timeout, tied the score at 26-26 on a kill by Kraushaar, and then found itself trailing 29-27 with Hawaii serving for the match. A clutch block by Klosterman and Johnson forced UH to call timeout with Johnson serving. A ballhandling mistake by UH setter Brian Beckwith tied the score, but the Warriors took a 30-29 lead on Azenha's kill. Hawaii had two more swings to win the game, until the Bruins tied the score at 31-31. A block by UCLA's Allan Vince gave the Bruins a 32-31 lead. The teams traded points until UH's Jose Delgado hit a ball wide to give the Bruins the victory.
Klosterman led the Bruins with a season-high of 20 kills (.308) and 22 points. Johnson added 17 kills (.519), four aces and five block assists for 23.5 points. Acosta hammered 15 kills (.303), Kraushaar added 11 kills (.333), including seven in the final game, plus two aces. Vince had 10 kills (.450), two aces and four total blocks, including one solo and one assisted block in Game 4.
Azenha led the Warriors with 17 kills (.325), followed by Matt Bender's 16 (.353). UH out-blocked UCLA 13.0-11.0, although the Bruins recorded six blocks in Game 4.
The two teams meet Saturday night (Feb. 26) at 7 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion.
