LOS ANGELES – No. 3-ranked UCLA took top-ranked Long Beach State to five sets in Saturday evening's NCAA Men's Volleyball Championships Final at Pauley Pavilion played before a crowd of over 7,000 fans, but ultimately fell just short as the 49ers escaped with a 25-19, 23-25, 20-25, 26-24, 15-12 win to claim the program's first NCAA title since 1991.
The Bruins (26-8) narrowly out-hit LBSU (28-1) for the match .328 to .325, but UCLA was limited to a match-low clip of .062 in the do-or-die fifth.
Four separate Bruins hitters finished with double-figure kills, led by AVCA First-Team All-America middle blocker Daenan Gyimah's match-high 21 kills. Senior opposite Christian Hessenauer had a 12-kill, 10-dig double-double and senior libero JT Hatch led the Bruins' back row efforts with 11 digs.
LBSU meanwhile was led by the twin threats of opposite Kyle Ensing (20 kills) and outside hitter TJ DeFalco (18 kills, match-high 12 digs).
Blocking ended up being the decisive factor for the 49ers in the fifth, as they recorded half of their eight overall blocks in that set alone.
UCLA had a narrow edge early on in the fifth, but LBSU was able to start a match-clinching charge when DeFalco stuffed a Gyimah tip in the middle to tie it up at 7-7. Ensing and Nick Amado (four kills, six blocks overall on the night) put the 49ers up for good with blocks on back-to-back plays at 11-9, then DeFalco capped off a 4-0 run for his team with another solo block.
A serve into the net from LBSU setter and AVCA National Player of the Year Josh Tuaniga (46 assists, five digs, three kills) coupled with a just-wide line shot from Ensing brought the Bruins back within one at 12-11, but LBSU claimed three of the final four points to finish off the match. Amado ended the contest with a quick hit in the middle.
Thanks to a 6-3 game-opening run, UCLA found itself in front for the majority of the fourth, but LBSU got a second wind mid-set and pulled off three straight points – two on DeFalco tips and another on a block – to tie it at 18-18. The 49ers would go on to take the lead on the next point with a DeFalco kill off the block. The two teams would trade points until a UCLA service error gave LBSU set point at 24-23. A Jake Arnitz kill temporarily held off the 49ers, but the visitors would convert on their second chance at set point as Tuaniga caught the back line with a jump serve to send the match to a decisive fifth set.
The Bruins were at their best in the middle sets, hitting a match-high .480 in the second set while limiting LBSU to a .091 clip in the third.
Tough serving from UCLA was the theme in the third, as LBSU struggled to pass, leading to 4.5 team blocks and four aces – including three for Dylan Missry, who had a match-high and career-best six on the night – for the Bruins. Missry was at the service line for UCLA's decisive run, reeling off five straight points – all but one which came off a block or ace – as the Bruins went up 22-18.
Gyimah and UCLA All-American setter Micah Ma'a (52 assists, eight digs, five blocks) built a near-unstoppable connection in the second set, with Gyimah knocking down eight kills on nine swings to lead UCLA to a match-evening win. With 12 ties, the second was the closest game of the night, but UCLA was either ahead or tied the rest of the way after a Gyimah tap down-kill made it 16-15. While the 49ers would tie it at 22-22, the Bruins would convert on their second opportunity at second point as LBSU's Louis Richard served long.
Gyimah's 21 kills was a career-best and came on 40 total swings. The middle added a block solo and three block assists to give him 151 total blocks on the season which are the second-most in school single-season history in the rally scoring era. Hatch, who led the Bruins in digs (11), completed his career with 634 which is fourth on the all-time school list. Missry and Arnitz totaled double-digit kills with 11 and 10, respectively. Arnitz completed his collegiate action in fourth place on the all-time school list for kills, total attacks and total points. Long Beach owned a 9 to 7 advantage from the service line in the match, the most by a Bruin opponent this season.
This week marked the 15th time that UCLA has hosted the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championships. Saturday's result was just the second time that the Bruins lost a contest at Pauley Pavilion in 2018, both at the hands of LBSU.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
TJ DEFALCO – LONG BEACH STATE
KYLE ENSING – LONG BEACH STATE
Daenan Gyimah - UCLA
JAKE HANES – OHIO STATE
Micah Ma'a – UCLA
NICOLAS SZERSZEN – OHIO STATE
JOSH TUANIGA – LONG BEACH STATE
MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER – JOSH TUANIGA