UCLA
UC Santa Barbara
Bruins Win Seventh Straight in Sweep at UCSB
April 12, 2006 | Men's Volleyball
April 12, 2006
Seventh-ranked UCLA won its seventh straight match, defeating No. 8 UC Santa Barbara on the road Wednesday night.
The Bruins won 30-23, 30-24, 34-32 in 95 minutes before 644 fans at Robertson Gym. The victory raised the Bruins' overall record to 19-12, 11-10 in MPSF play. The Gauchos fell to 13-14, 9-12.
UCLA's sweep clinched a home playoff date on Apr. 19 in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins most likely will host UC Santa Barbara for the right to advance to the quarterfinals of the MPSF Tournament.
During their seven-match run, the Bruins have won six by the score of 3-0. With the emergence of freshman setter Matt Wade, the Bruins are hitting nearly .340 as a team in their last seven matches and that continued Wednesday when they hit .372.
Junior Steve Klosterman pounded 12 kills (.360) and added three total blocks. Senior Damien Scott continued his hot hitting, slamming 10 kills. Senior Nick Scheftic made a career-high of four solo blocks and added nine kills (.571). The Bruins won the battle at the net, 9.0 blocks to 5.0.
Aaron Richman led the Gauchos with 15 kills (.224) and Brian Berman added 11, but was held to a .143 hitting percentage. For the third consecutive match, UCSB junior opposite Evan Patak, the national leader in kills per game and points scored, did not play.
The Bruins conclude their regular season Fri., Apr. 14 at Cal State Northridge.
