Friday, February 24
Irvine, CA
7:00 PM
UCLA
14-1,2-0MPSF
3
at
1
UC Irvine
9-4,0-0Big West
1
2
3
4
F
UCLA
17
25
25
25
3
UC Irvine
25
23
19
16
1
John Speraw won his 200th match as UCLA's head coach on Friday.
Photo by: UCLA Athletics
MVB Aces No. 6 UC Irvine
February 24, 2023 | Men's Volleyball
The No. 2 UCLA men's volleyball team (14-1) defeated No. 6 UC Irvine (9-4) in a non-league match before over 2,000 fans on Friday night in Irvine. Scores of the match were 17-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-16. The Bruins used a balanced attack to give Coach John Speraw his 200th win as UCLA head coach and 399th overall win as a collegiate head coach. Alex Knight led the way with a career-high tying 15 kills. The Bruins placed three other attackers in double-digit kills as Ethan Champlin (13), Ido David (12) and Merrick McHenry (10) joined the party. UCLA hit .364 for the match and added 10 aces and 10.0 total blocks. The win gave UCLA a perfect 9-0 record in matches against Big West Conference opponents this season. The same two teams will do battle again on Sunday at 5 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
UCLA jumped out to a 4-1 lead to begin set one. UC Irvine rallied to even the score at 5-all. A David spike tied the score at 8-all, but the Anteaters tallied the next two points. A couple of Bruin errors pushed UC Irvine into a 10-14 lead. David's ace pulled UCLA to within two, at 13-15. However, the next four points belonged to the home team. Champlin's kill made it 16-20, but UCI closed out the Bruins 17-25 to take the first set. UCLA had seven service errors in the frame and hit .240. Irvine registered four aces.
In set two, UC Irvine surged to a 1-4 advantage. Guy Genis' ace narrowed the deficit to 9-10. An Irvine error leveled the score at 11-all. A couple of kills by Champlin and one by David lifted UCLA into a 14-11 lead. Irvine battled back to even the score at 15-all. A couple of Anteater errors snapped an 18-all tie and put UCLA up 20-18. Irvine came back to tie the score at 21-all, but McHenry and Champlin kills made it 23-21. A couple more McHenry kills ended the set at 25-23.
UCLA utilized the serve of David to rattle off four straight points to open up an 8-4 lead in set three. UCI narrowed the gap to 11-10 before the Bruins answered with three straight points. McHenry's serve then helped UCLA widen the margin to 19-13. The Anteaters reduced the deficit to 20-17, but UCLA closed out the set on a Champlin swing and an Andrew Rowan ace for a 25-19 win.
After the score was tied at points 8 thru 10, UCLA opened up a 14-12 lead thanks to kills from Knight, Champlin and David. The Bruins then ran off seven straight points behind the serve of David and grew the lead to 21-12. J.R. Norris IV's kill made it 22-14 and David's kill ended the set at 25-16. UCLA hit .560 for the frame.
Rowan finished with a career-best 44 set assists and added four blocks. Troy Gooch topped the Bruins with eight digs. The Bruin total of 10 aces marked the third time this season UCLA had reached double-digits from the service line in a match. UC Irvine's total of nine aces was an opponent high. UCLA's 14-1 start to the season matches the beginning to the 2018 campaign. The 2005 Bruins opened with wins in 15 of its first 16 matches. In 1998, UCLA won its first 16 matches.
UCLA jumped out to a 4-1 lead to begin set one. UC Irvine rallied to even the score at 5-all. A David spike tied the score at 8-all, but the Anteaters tallied the next two points. A couple of Bruin errors pushed UC Irvine into a 10-14 lead. David's ace pulled UCLA to within two, at 13-15. However, the next four points belonged to the home team. Champlin's kill made it 16-20, but UCI closed out the Bruins 17-25 to take the first set. UCLA had seven service errors in the frame and hit .240. Irvine registered four aces.
In set two, UC Irvine surged to a 1-4 advantage. Guy Genis' ace narrowed the deficit to 9-10. An Irvine error leveled the score at 11-all. A couple of kills by Champlin and one by David lifted UCLA into a 14-11 lead. Irvine battled back to even the score at 15-all. A couple of Anteater errors snapped an 18-all tie and put UCLA up 20-18. Irvine came back to tie the score at 21-all, but McHenry and Champlin kills made it 23-21. A couple more McHenry kills ended the set at 25-23.
UCLA utilized the serve of David to rattle off four straight points to open up an 8-4 lead in set three. UCI narrowed the gap to 11-10 before the Bruins answered with three straight points. McHenry's serve then helped UCLA widen the margin to 19-13. The Anteaters reduced the deficit to 20-17, but UCLA closed out the set on a Champlin swing and an Andrew Rowan ace for a 25-19 win.
After the score was tied at points 8 thru 10, UCLA opened up a 14-12 lead thanks to kills from Knight, Champlin and David. The Bruins then ran off seven straight points behind the serve of David and grew the lead to 21-12. J.R. Norris IV's kill made it 22-14 and David's kill ended the set at 25-16. UCLA hit .560 for the frame.
Rowan finished with a career-best 44 set assists and added four blocks. Troy Gooch topped the Bruins with eight digs. The Bruin total of 10 aces marked the third time this season UCLA had reached double-digits from the service line in a match. UC Irvine's total of nine aces was an opponent high. UCLA's 14-1 start to the season matches the beginning to the 2018 campaign. The 2005 Bruins opened with wins in 15 of its first 16 matches. In 1998, UCLA won its first 16 matches.
Team Stats
UCLA
Irvine
Kills
53
40
Errors
14
24
Attempts
107
107
Hitting %
.364
.150
Points
73.5
56
Assists
50
36
Aces
10
9
Blocks
10.5
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
2
Blocks
3
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
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/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
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