UCLA
Springfield College
UCLA Sweeps Springfield in Hawai'i
January 13, 2012 | Men's Volleyball
Jan. 13, 2012
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Senior Thomas Amberg led the third ranked UCLA men's volleyball team in a sweep over Springfield College Friday night at the Outrigger Hotels Invitational in Honolulu.
Set scores for the 76-minute match were 25-20, 25-21, 25-22. The Bruins improved to 4-1 overall, 2-0 in the tournament. Springfield fell to 0-2 overall.
In Set 1, the Bruins pulled away at 12-12 on kills by Amberg and senior Jeremy Casebeer. After a point by the Pride, Amberg recorded two more kills for a 16-13 advantage. Two points, including an ace by Springfield's Greg Falcone narrowed the lead to 16-15 before Amberg and senior Weston Dunlap recorded a combo block. After another point by the Pride following a timeout, the Bruins scored seven of the next five points to wrap up the set.
In Set 2, UCLA rallied from a 15-12 deficit with a 4-0 run, sparked by a Springfield service error. Senior Nick Vogel and Amberg combined on a block, senior Kyle Caldwell served an ace and Amberg recorded a kill for a 16-15 UCLA lead. After Caldwell committed a service error to tie the set at 16-16, the Bruins went on a 3-0 run on a pair of kills by Amberg, a block by Vogel and Amberg and a kill by freshman Kene Izuchukwu. The Bruins maintained this cushion and won by four.
The Pride raced to a 4-1 lead in Set 3 before the Bruins rallied to tie it at 4-4 on a pair of Springfield miscues and a kill by Izuchukwu. The set see-sawed until the Bruins broke a 10-10 tie with a 4-1 run, ignited by kills from Izuchukwu, Vogel and Amberg plus a Springfield service error. The Pride never got closer than two points, despite a 4-1 run that narrowed the score to 21-19. Dunlap recorded the final kill to give the Bruins the set and match.
Amberg's 13 kills (.688) and 16 points led all players. Dunlap added nine kills (.538) and Vogel accounted for six. In a starting role, Izuchukwu pounded six kills (.556) and added two block assists for seven points. The Bruins hit .395 for the match and limited the Pride to a .200 attack percentage. UCLA won the battle at the net, 6.5 blocks to 3.0.
Falcone led the Pride with seven kills.
UCLA will meet Hawai'i Saturday night in the tournament finale. First serve is set for 9 p.m. PST.
