#5 Bruins Break Buckeyes in Four
January 07, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
The fifth-ranked men's volleyball team captured a four-set decision over sixth-ranked Ohio State in a match played on Thursday night at the Penn State Tournament. Scores of the match were 24-26, 25-22, 25-22, 25-22. UCLA is now 2-0 on the year and will meet #10 Penn State on Friday night at 4:30 p.m. PT before returning to the West Coast.
Freshman outside hitter Dylan Missry led the Bruins with 12 kills (.286 and four block assists). Also in double-figure kills were junior hitter Michael Fisher (11-.579), junior middle blocker Mitch Stahl (10-.600 and six block assists) and freshman Micah Ma'a (11-.382). Hagen Smith added three aces and 32 set assists. UCLA outblocked the Buckeyes 11.0 to 3.0 and outhit them .382 to .254.
Ohio State jumped out to a 6-9 lead in set one. UCLA tied it at 11 on a kill by Hagen Smith. The score was even again at 16 before OSU moved out to an 18-21 lead. UCLA tied it at 22 after kills from Ma'a and Stahl and then took the lead at 23-22 on a kill by JT Hatch. OSU rallied to move back in front and came away with a 24-26 win in the opening set.
In set two, Ohio State went ahead 5-7 in the early going. UCLA came back to move ahead 8-7 on a kill from Missry. The score was then even at 10 and 15 before the Bruins gained an 18-16 advantage. UCLA still led 23-20 after a kill from Fisher and won the set on a Missry kill for a 25-22 verdict.
UCLA moved to a 9-6 edge in set three behind the serve of John Zappia. The Bruins led 17-12 after a Fisher kill, but OSU quickly fought back to close to 17-15. UCLA bumped the margin up to 20-16 after a three-man block, but the Buckeyes came back to trail by one, 23-22, after an ace. Kills by Zappia and Smith ended the drama and handed UCLA a 25-22 win.
OSU jumped to a 7-11 advantage to start set four. UCLA climbed back into it and took the lead, at 15-14, following kills by Ma'a and Fisher. Kills by Oliver Martin and Smith pushed the Bruin edge to 19-15. The Buckeyes closed to 20-19 forcing a timeout by Coach John Speraw. UCLA enjoyed a 24-22 margin after an OSU hitting error and then captured the set and the match 25-22 thanks to an Oliver Martin kill.
