UCLA
UC Santa Barbara
Bruins Edge Gauchos in Five Games
January 20, 2010 | Men's Volleyball
Jan. 20, 2010
One wonders how different things would have been if a leaky gym had been repaired.
Wednesday's switched match between UCLA and UC Santa Barbara could have gone either way, and had the Gauchos been playing at home, who knows if they'd have allowed 24 points at the service line. Or, if the Bruins could have served nine aces amidst the friendly breezes of Pauley Pavilion.
Regardless, UCLA won 30-19, 23-30, 24-30, 30-26, 15-11, halting a four-match skid to improve its overall record to 2-4. The Bruins also won their first MPSF match and raised their record to 1-2. The Gauchos fell to 1-5, 1-2.
UCLA has not played better this season than it did in Game 1, attacking at a .444 rate, serving four aces against three errors and outblocking UCSB, 5.0-2.0. The Bruins also recorded an 85 percent sideout ratio and three players were errorless in at least four swings.
The fortunes of Game 1 turned into nightmares in Games 2 and 3. UCLA's sideout percentage dropped to an average of 66 percent and the team hit an aggregate .113 in those two games. The Gauchos also surpassed the Bruins in the hitting and blocking departments as juniors Jeff Menzel and Cullen Irons combined for a collective 23 kills and were scorching the Bruins' defense senseless.
But proud programs rise to the occasion, and the Bruins pulled themselves out of the muck and slowly out-dueled their opponents. Senior Garrett Muagututia hammered five kills and dug four balls in Game 4, while senior setter Kevin Ker dug in and found the middle of UCLA's attack. Quick hitters Thomas Amberg and Weston Dunlap came alive with five and four kills, respectively. The Bruins had an 80 percent sideout rate and snapped three aces to win by five.
In Game 5 the Bruin defense kicked in with 3.0 blocks and four digs. It also helped that the Gauchos committed three service errors. In the end, UCLA held Menzel and Irons to a pair of kills each.
Muagututia, who was hitting .250 entering Game 5, finished with 17 kills (.342),12 digs, three aces and three total blocks for 22.0 points. Sophomore Jack Polales added 13 kills and Thomas Amberg recorded 12 (.500). Sophomore Weston Dunlap came off the bench and smashed nine kills (.350) and added five block assists. Ker recorded 40 assists and libero Tom Hastings had 12 digs.
The Bruins meet No.2 CS Northridge, which defeated UC Irvine in four games, on Fri., Jan. 22 at the Matadome at 7 p.m.
