UCLA
Hawaii
UCLA Falls to Hawaii in Three
February 26, 2005 | Men's Volleyball
Feb. 26, 2005
The No.1 ranked UCLA men's volleyball team suffered its second loss of the season to a spirited Hawaii team that controlled the net in a three-game victory in Pauley Pavilion Saturday night.
The Bruins lost 25-30, 26-30, 25-30 in 90 minutes in front of 1,829 fans, the largest home crowd of the season. UCLA fell to 15-2 overall, 11-2 in the MPSF race. Hawaii raised its record to 11-2, 9-1 and recaptured first place.
The Bruins never got untracked as the Warriors controlled the net, out-blocking them 14.0-4.0. UCLA hit just .265 while UH hit. .360, including .517 in Game 2.
The turning point in the match came at the end of Game 2 when the Bruins tied the score at 26-26 on a kill by senior Allan Vince. A kill by UH junior Matt Bender gave the visitors a one-point advantage with their best server, senior Pedro Azenha, coming to the line. Azenha served an ace off the tape that UCLA's Tony Ker couldn't handle to give UH a two-point lead.
After a UCLA timeout, Vince was blocked and the Warriors had a three-point lead. Azenha sealed the game with another ace.
After recording 6.5 blocks through two games, Hawaii got 7.5 blocks in Game 3 and that proved to be the Bruins' demise. UCLA limited UH to a .185 hitting percentage in the final game, but hit just .129 on it own.
Senior Kris Kraushaar led the Bruins with 11 kills (.429), followed by Paul Johnson, who added 10 (.533). Sophomore Steve Klosterman, Friday night's kill leader with 20, was held to seven kills and Vince and senior Jonathan Acosta each had just eight.
Bender led the Warriors with 16 kills (.625) and five total blocks. Azenha added 11 kills, three aces and four total blocks.
The Bruins' next match will be on the road against UC Irvine on Mar. 2. The Bruins return home Mar. 4 for the annual Alumni match.
