Saturday, April 8
Los Angeles, CA
7:00 PM
UCLA
25-2,10-0MPSF
3
at
0
USC
8-15,1-9MPSF
1
2
3
F
UCLA
25
25
25
3
Southern California
20
17
20
0
Photo by: Lillie Yazdi
MVB Improves to 10-0 in MPSF Play
April 08, 2023 | Men's Volleyball
The No. 2 UCLA men's volleyball team (25-2, 10-0) defeated No. 12 USC (8-15, 1-9) in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) match played on Saturday night at the Galen Center. Scores of the contest were 25-20, 25-17, 25-20. The Bruins posted their 18th 3-0 sweep of the season which is the most by a UCLA team since the 1998 team had 20. UCLA has now won 30 out of 31 sets played against MPSF competition this season.
The last time UCLA won as many as 25 matches in a season was in 2018 when it produced a 26-8 record on the way to playing in the National Championship match. Coach John Speraw's team will take a 10-0 league mark into next week's final regular season matches against No. 8 Pepperdine looking to record its first unbeaten MPSF season since the 1995 squad went 19-0 and captured the National Championship.
In set one, UCLA grabbed the early lead at 5-4 after a Guy Genis kill. A strong Trojan serve helped move the home team in front 6-10. Genis then delivered four straight impactful serves to bring the Bruins even at 10-all. Kills by Ethan Champlin and Alex Knight put UCLA up 13-11. However, USC rallied to go back into a 14-15 lead. A block by Genis / Champlin / Andrew Rowan pushed UCLA back in front 19-18. Ido David followed with a smash for a 20-18 advantage. David's fourth and fifth kills of the frame made it 23-19. A Trojan service error gave UCLA set point at 24-20. Rowan ended the set with UCLA's first ace of the contest for a 25-20 win. UCLA hit .333 to USC's .118.
UCLA owned a 5-4 lead after a kill by Champlin in set two. The margin grew to 9-6 following a David spike. Merrick McHenry's swing put UCLA up 13-10. A kill from Genis and an ace by Rowan made it 15-11. Knight's kill resulted in a 17-13 lead. A David kill and a Trojan error put UCLA up 19-15. More Trojan errors helped up the difference to 21-16. Rowan / Genis / Champlin combined for a block and a 23-17 edge. A back row attack error and another block by Rowan / Genis / Champlin ended the set at 25-17. The Bruins hit .524 to USC's .136 mark. David added six more kills in the frame.
The Bruins surged to a 7-3 lead to begin the third set behind two more kills from David and an ace by McHenry. The lead was 10-4 after a David swing. Champlin's kill made it 14-8. Another David swing made it 16-10. Rowan's attack found the floor for a 20-14 lead. The Trojans then closed to 21-17 with three straight points. Cooper Robinson ended the run with a swing off hands. Knight's kill made it 23-18. David's 17th kill of the evening went down for set point at 24-19. The Bruins closed out the Trojans on Knight's 11th kill of the contest.
UCLA out hit the Trojans by a .395 to .143 margin for the match. It marked the 12th time this season the Bruins had limited the opposition to a sub-.200 attack percentage. Genis helped UCLA to a 10.5 to 8.5 block margin with six blocks, including his 18th block solo of the season which is one shy of Paul Johnson's rally-scoring era school record of 19 set in 2005. Champlin added five blocks. Rowan totaled 35 set assists, a team-high 9 digs, and four blocks to go with a couple of aces. He has registered at least one ace in 15 of the past 16 matches.
The Bruins will conclude the regular season with a pair of MPSF matches against No. 8 Pepperdine on Thursday (away) and Saturday (home). UCLA will celebrate Senior Night and honor a couple of its men's volleyball National Championship teams at Saturday's 7 p.m. match in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
The last time UCLA won as many as 25 matches in a season was in 2018 when it produced a 26-8 record on the way to playing in the National Championship match. Coach John Speraw's team will take a 10-0 league mark into next week's final regular season matches against No. 8 Pepperdine looking to record its first unbeaten MPSF season since the 1995 squad went 19-0 and captured the National Championship.
In set one, UCLA grabbed the early lead at 5-4 after a Guy Genis kill. A strong Trojan serve helped move the home team in front 6-10. Genis then delivered four straight impactful serves to bring the Bruins even at 10-all. Kills by Ethan Champlin and Alex Knight put UCLA up 13-11. However, USC rallied to go back into a 14-15 lead. A block by Genis / Champlin / Andrew Rowan pushed UCLA back in front 19-18. Ido David followed with a smash for a 20-18 advantage. David's fourth and fifth kills of the frame made it 23-19. A Trojan service error gave UCLA set point at 24-20. Rowan ended the set with UCLA's first ace of the contest for a 25-20 win. UCLA hit .333 to USC's .118.
UCLA owned a 5-4 lead after a kill by Champlin in set two. The margin grew to 9-6 following a David spike. Merrick McHenry's swing put UCLA up 13-10. A kill from Genis and an ace by Rowan made it 15-11. Knight's kill resulted in a 17-13 lead. A David kill and a Trojan error put UCLA up 19-15. More Trojan errors helped up the difference to 21-16. Rowan / Genis / Champlin combined for a block and a 23-17 edge. A back row attack error and another block by Rowan / Genis / Champlin ended the set at 25-17. The Bruins hit .524 to USC's .136 mark. David added six more kills in the frame.
The Bruins surged to a 7-3 lead to begin the third set behind two more kills from David and an ace by McHenry. The lead was 10-4 after a David swing. Champlin's kill made it 14-8. Another David swing made it 16-10. Rowan's attack found the floor for a 20-14 lead. The Trojans then closed to 21-17 with three straight points. Cooper Robinson ended the run with a swing off hands. Knight's kill made it 23-18. David's 17th kill of the evening went down for set point at 24-19. The Bruins closed out the Trojans on Knight's 11th kill of the contest.
UCLA out hit the Trojans by a .395 to .143 margin for the match. It marked the 12th time this season the Bruins had limited the opposition to a sub-.200 attack percentage. Genis helped UCLA to a 10.5 to 8.5 block margin with six blocks, including his 18th block solo of the season which is one shy of Paul Johnson's rally-scoring era school record of 19 set in 2005. Champlin added five blocks. Rowan totaled 35 set assists, a team-high 9 digs, and four blocks to go with a couple of aces. He has registered at least one ace in 15 of the past 16 matches.
The Bruins will conclude the regular season with a pair of MPSF matches against No. 8 Pepperdine on Thursday (away) and Saturday (home). UCLA will celebrate Senior Night and honor a couple of its men's volleyball National Championship teams at Saturday's 7 p.m. match in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
Team Stats
UCLA
USC
Kills
44
27
Errors
12
15
Attempts
81
84
Hitting %
.395
.143
Points
57.5
39.5
Assists
44
23
Aces
3
4
Blocks
10.5
8.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballHighlights - Men's Volleyball vs. Hawai'i, NCAA Semifinals (May 10, 2025)
Sunday, May 11
Highlights - Men's Volleyball vs. Belmont Abbey, NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals (May 8, 2025)
Thursday, May 08
Men’s Volleyball - NCAA Travel Day Vlog ft. Matthew Aziz
Wednesday, May 07
Highlights - UCLA Men's Volleyball vs. #5 USC (4/17/25)
Friday, April 18