UCLA
Loyola Chicago (Pauley Pavilion)
Skid Ends as Bruins Outlast Ramblers in Five Games
March 07, 2006 | Men's Volleyball
March 7, 2006
Ninth-ranked UCLA ended a three-match, nine-game losing skid with a 3-2 victory against No.10 Loyola-Chicago Tuesday night in Pauley Pavilion.
The Bruins won 30-32, 30-27, 30-26, 28-30, 15-11 in two hours and eight minutes in front of 318 fans. The victory improved UCLA's overall record to 11-9. The Ramblers lost their second straight match and fell to 15-3.
Prior to the victory, the Bruins had lost three consecutive matches in three games. They dropped Game 1 to run their string of consecutive games lost to 10. That streak ended with a 30-27 victory in Game 2 and a four-point win in Game 3. The Ramblers held off a late Bruin rally in Game 4, but in Game 5, three Loyola service errors and no blocks proved the difference. Despite committing 16 service errors with no aces through four games, the Bruins served a pair aces and hit .889 (8-0-9) in the fifth game to win the match.
The Bruins also dominated the net, out-blocking the Ramblers 13.5-5.5. Loyola did not record a block in the final game.
Five UCLA players recorded double-digit kills and three of them went for double-doubles. Junior Steve Klosterman (26 kills, 10 digs) led the Bruins, while Nick Scheftic (16 kills, .538), Paul George (13 kills, 11 digs), David Russell (12 kills, .500) and Sean O'Malley (10 kills, 11 digs) all were major contributors. Sophomore Eric Chaghouri led the Bruins with a career-high of 13 digs.
On the visitors' side, senior Chris Nelson led the Ramblers with 20 kills, an ace and one block assist for 21.5 points. Four other players recorded double-digit kills, including Chris Kozlarek, who recorded 17 kills and four total blocks.
UCLA will conclude its homestand on Wed., Mar. 8 against Lewis at 7 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion before traveling to Hawaii for a key MPSF series on Mar. 10 and 11.
