Thursday, January 5
Santa Barbara, CA
5:30 PM
UCLA
1-0,0-0MPSF
3
vs
0
CSUN
0-1,0-0Big West
1
2
3
F
UCLA
25
25
25
3
CSUN
18
21
18
0
Alex Knight
MVB Opens With Win Over CSUN
January 05, 2023 | Men's Volleyball
The No. 2 UCLA men's volleyball team opened up the 2023 season with a straight set win over CSUN in a match played at the UC Santa Barbara Asics Tournament on Thursday evening. Scores of the match were 25-18, 25-21, 25-18. Ethan Champlin led the way with 12 kills while hitting .700 for the contest. Alex Knight added 8 kills while Grant Sloane was credited with seven for the Bruins who outhit CSUN .484 to .086 for the match. Guy Genis added a match-high six blocks. Troy Gooch came up with nine digs and Miles Partain contributed 31 set assists.
In set one, UCLA fell behind 1-4 before being sparked by the serve of Guy Genis to record five straight points and go up 6-4. A Sloane ace made it 8-5. A couple of Champlin kills pushed the Bruins in front 11-8. Genis' swing left UCLA in front 15-11. Knight's kill put the Bruins up 17-13 and then he stepped to the line and served up seven straight points for UCLA. A Champlin kill, his fourth of the frame, finished off set one at 25-18. The Bruins hit .526.
The Bruins rode the serves of Champlin and Genis to a 7-1 lead to begin set two. CSUN battled back to close to 7-5 and then evened the score at 11-all. After CSUN went up 11-13, a Sloane kill and a Champlin ace evened the score. A couple of Champlin kills elevated the Bruins into a 20-17 lead. A Slone kill, followed by a Genis block solo made it 22-18. Knight's swing ended the set at 25-21. The Bruins hit .500 for the frame.
UCLA opened up a 6-1 advantage to start the third set. CSUN closed to 9-6. A series of errors by both teams and then a kill by Knight left UCLA in front 17-11. Merrick McHenry's swing put the Bruins up 18-13. Kyle Vom Steeg's ace lifted the Bruins into a 22-16 lead. McHenry and Sloane combined for a block to bring about match point at 24-17. After saving one point, the Matador's registered a service error to finish the set at 25-18.
The Bruins will play UC San Diego on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. as action in the UC Santa Barbara Tournament continues through the weekend. UCLA will square off against No. 7 UCSB on Saturday evening at 8 p.m. on ESPN+. Earlier on Thursday, UCSB defeated No. 10 USC 3-1. All matches are being played in UCSB's Rob Gym.
In set one, UCLA fell behind 1-4 before being sparked by the serve of Guy Genis to record five straight points and go up 6-4. A Sloane ace made it 8-5. A couple of Champlin kills pushed the Bruins in front 11-8. Genis' swing left UCLA in front 15-11. Knight's kill put the Bruins up 17-13 and then he stepped to the line and served up seven straight points for UCLA. A Champlin kill, his fourth of the frame, finished off set one at 25-18. The Bruins hit .526.
The Bruins rode the serves of Champlin and Genis to a 7-1 lead to begin set two. CSUN battled back to close to 7-5 and then evened the score at 11-all. After CSUN went up 11-13, a Sloane kill and a Champlin ace evened the score. A couple of Champlin kills elevated the Bruins into a 20-17 lead. A Slone kill, followed by a Genis block solo made it 22-18. Knight's swing ended the set at 25-21. The Bruins hit .500 for the frame.
UCLA opened up a 6-1 advantage to start the third set. CSUN closed to 9-6. A series of errors by both teams and then a kill by Knight left UCLA in front 17-11. Merrick McHenry's swing put the Bruins up 18-13. Kyle Vom Steeg's ace lifted the Bruins into a 22-16 lead. McHenry and Sloane combined for a block to bring about match point at 24-17. After saving one point, the Matador's registered a service error to finish the set at 25-18.
The Bruins will play UC San Diego on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. as action in the UC Santa Barbara Tournament continues through the weekend. UCLA will square off against No. 7 UCSB on Saturday evening at 8 p.m. on ESPN+. Earlier on Thursday, UCSB defeated No. 10 USC 3-1. All matches are being played in UCSB's Rob Gym.
Team Stats
UCLA
CSUN
Kills
35
25
Errors
5
19
Attempts
62
70
Hitting %
.484
.086
Points
51
35
Assists
34
24
Aces
8
7
Blocks
8
3
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
S/Opp
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
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