UCLA
Cal-Baptist
Volleyball Downed at 12th-ranked Cal Baptist
February 07, 2013 | Men's Volleyball
Feb. 7, 2013
The sixth-ranked men's volleyball team dropped a five-set decision in Riverside, CA at 12th-ranked Cal Baptist in a MPSF Conference match on Thursday night. Scores of the match were 30-28, 23-25, 27-25, 23-25 and 15-12 in favor of the Lancers. UCLA is now 8-6, 4-4 on the season while CBU improved its records to 6-5, 3-3.
After the score was tied at three and five in the deciding set, Cal Baptist moved out to a 7-5 lead before UCLA coach John Speraw called timeout. UCLA closed the deficit to 8-7 on a Gonzalo Quiroga blast. The Bruins were down 13-11 when Connor Bannan's block narrowed the difference to one point. CBU then registered the next two points to secure the match.
In set one, the score was tied at 7-all and 10-all before a couple of Spencer Rowe kills staked the Bruins to a 17-15 lead. UCLA held the advantage at 24-22 when Cal Baptist put two straight points together to knot the set at 24. Robart Page's ace handed the Bruins a 26-25 lead, but CBU quickly tied it up at 28-each. The Lancers scored the final two points of the set to win 30-28.
In set two, neither team could separate in the early going until the Bruins grabbed a 14-12 advantage. CBU rallied for a 18-17 lead before Quiroga evened the score at 21 with a kill. The Bruins went ahead 24-23 on a Quiroga ace and took set two 25-23.
CBU ran out to a quick 5-1 lead in set three and maintained a 4-5 point edge for most of the set. The Lancers owned a 22-18 margin when UCLA cut the gap to 22-20 on kill by Rowe and a hitting error. Blocks by Clayton Paullin and Page tied the score at 23, but the Bruins could not sustain the momentum and fell 27-25.
In set four, UCLA went down 10-7 and 15-11. An ace by Page capped off a Bruin mini-rally and leveled the score at 15. UCLA took a 17-16 lead on a kill by Quiroga and still led 19-18 after a spike by Dane Worley. CBU stormed back with three straight points to grab a 21-19 advantage. UCLA tied it up at 21 on a block by Rowe and Page. A Page kill pushed the Bruins ahead 22-21 and and ace by Page handed them the set at 25-23.
Quiroga topped UCLA with 24 kills on the night and added a team-best eight digs. Page totaled 17 kills and four aces. Bannan recorded 56 assists. Rowe put up five blocks.
UCLA will remain on the road and play its next match at top-ranked BYU on Saturday night. The Bruins return home to play Hawaii on Feb. 15 (Wooden Center) and 16 (Pauley Pavilion) in a pair of 7 p.m. matches. Tickets are available at the door.
