UCLA
USC
Bruins Down Trojans in Four Sets
February 28, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
The No. 4 UCLA men's volleyball team (15-3, 11-3) defeated USC in four sets in an MPSF match held in the Galen Center on Saturday night. Scores of the contest were 25-16, 25-20, 25-27, 25-16. The Bruins also picked up BMW Crosstown Cup points from the win closing the deficit with 'SC to 45-55.
In set one, the Bruins stormed out to a 7-1 lead behind the serve of Micah Ma'a and three kills from JT Hatch. USC came back to get within 10-8, forcing a Bruin timeout. The Bruins moved back in front 16-10 after kills by Mitch Stahl and Ma'a. UCLA had just one error on its first 14 swings in the match. Two aces by Hatch pushed the lead to 21-13. A pair of kills by Jake Arnitz and a block by Arnitz, Oliver Martin and Hagen Smith gave UCLA the set at 25-16. The Bruins hit .524 to .154 by USC.
A couple of kills by Stahl and an ace from Hatch lifted UCLA into a 5-2 lead to start the second set. Hatch's seventh and eighth kills of the match increased the margin to 15-10. An ace by Stahl made it 17-12 and a Stahl kill resulted in a 22-17 edge. Kills by Smith and Arnitz ended the set at 25-20. UCLA outhit the Trojans .444 to .148 for the set.
After the Trojans took their first leads of the night at 0-2 to begin set three, the Bruins tied it up at 3-all after kills by Ma'a, Stahl and Arnitz. UCLA surged back into the lead on a service error at 7-6 and built the margin up to 14-10 after a block by Arnitz and Martin. USC closed to within one at 16-15 after an ace capped off a flurry of three straight points. The score was then tied at points 17 thru 21. The Trojans took a 21-23 lead after two swings off the block. UCLA came back to tie it up at 24 following a service error and an attack error. A Ma'a kill pushed the Bruins in front 25-24, but USC answered with the next three points to take the set 25-27. The Trojans hit .379 for the set to UCLA's .207.
In set four, UCLA jumped out to a 7-3 advantage after a Smith kill. A series of Trojan errors and a pair of Smith aces lifted UCLA into a 12-5 edge. Hatch's 13th kill of the match, which tied his season-high, made it 15-9 and began a streak of three-straight points for a 17-9 lead. A kill by Arnitz made it 24-16 and the Bruins put it away on a block by Smith and Stahl. The Bruins hit .417 in the set to .040 for USC.
Hatch led the Bruins with 13 kills (.357) and tallied a career-best four service aces. Arnitz finished with 10 kills. Smith had seven kills (.875) and tied his career-best with three aces. Ma'a had his 38th service ace of the season in set three of tonight's match to tie David Russell (2006) for ninth on the school single season list. UCLA hit .386 for the match to .187 for USC.
UCLA will play No. 8 UC Santa Barbara twice next week. The Bruins host the Gauchos on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the Wooden Center. UCLA then will play at UCSB on Friday night.
