UCLA
USC
UCLA Sweeps USC in Men's Volleyball
March 31, 2007 | Men's Volleyball
March 31, 2007
Fourth-ranked UCLA avenged a Jan. 27 loss to USC on Saturday night, sweeping the Trojans at the Galen Center.
The Bruins won 30-27, 30-20, 30-26 in 94 minutes front of 1,100 fans on USC's new home court. The victory raised the Bruins' overall record to 15-10, 10-9 in MPSF play. USC fell to 10-13, 7-11.
The victory also gave the Bruins 2.5 points in the Lexus Gauntlet standings, raising UCLA's lead in the cross-town series to 50-22.5.
The Bruins won this match at the service line. They served six aces against just 15 errors and constantly threw USC's offense off-balance all evening with pinpoint service placement and off-speed shots. Senior Paul George served four aces in Game 1 to provide the difference in the opening set.
Freshman setter Kevin Ker guided the offense to a hitting percentage of .394, distributing 40 assists. Ker also tied a career-high by scoring seven points on four kills, an ace and four block assists.
Redshirt freshman quick hitter Shaun Nichols, in his first start, led the Bruins with a career-high of 13 kills (.579) and six block assists. Senior Steve Klosterman added 12 kills and 13.5 points.
As a team the Bruins out-blocked the Trojans, 8.5-4.0 and out-served them six aces to two. The Bruins limited their rivals to a hitting percentage of .210.
USC's Juan Figueroa led both teams with 19 kills (.324).
UCLA returns home for three matches over the next two weeks: Apr. 4 vs. Cal Baptist, Apr. 6 vs. UC Irvine and Apr. 11 vs. Long Beach State. All matches start at 7 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion.
